British man loses extradition fight over bribery charges

A British national wanted in SA over allegations of bribes paid in a deal struck with power utility Eskom has lost a bid to block his extradition, reports Fin24. A London judge dismissed arguments that Michael Lomas (77), a former Eskom contractor, would be at high risk of suicide should he be sent to SA to face the criminal charges. ‘It is very hard to see how the appellant, a frail elderly man, would succeed in taking his life after being searched for dangerous objects and when surrounded by the escorting team,’ Judge Charles Bourne said in the ruling. Lomas was arrested in 2021 in London over Eskom’s payment of R745m to Tubular Construction Projects for work on the utility’s Kusile power plant. He faces trial on over 41 charges of corruption for the alleged bribes between 2015 and 2017. Lomas could face as long as 15 years in prison if found guilty. SA prosecutors first won the right to extradite him in December 2022, after authorities announced a series of arrests and prosecutions in their efforts to turn the page after the scandal-marred rule of former President Jacob Zuma.