Lomas extradition hearing set for December

Former Eskom contractor Michael Lomas’s trial date for his extradition hearing has been set for December 20 and 21. This date was set by the Westminster Magistrate’s Court in London.
On May 20, Lomas made a brief second appearance at the London court following his arrest on April 15, 2021. He was granted bail of £100 000 (R1.7-million) and surety to the sum of £250 000 (about R4.3-m), among other stringent bail conditions.
Lomas’s appearance stems from talks with the UK law-enforcement authorities in connection with the fraud and corruption case in which it is reported Eskom paid R745-m to Tubular Construction Projects in which Lomas is implicated.
The contract exposed the state-owned entity to R1.4-billion. Lomas has been indicted with four other accused in South Africa who were arrested in December 2019.
His co-accused are expected back in Palm Ridge Magistrate’s Court on June 1. The same accused were also served with R1.4-b assets restraint order on May 4, after the NPA’s Investigating Directorate (ID) applied to the high court. Their assets are now under the supervision of a curator appointed by the court.
The ID brought an extradition application through the UK central authorities to invoke the European Convention on Extradition 1957 and the UN Convention against Corruption 2003 to assist in bringing Lomas back to South Africa to account and join the South African accused.