Michael Lomas was sent back to South Africa for corruption charges at Eskom

A British businessman, who was a contractor for South Africa’s power generation company, Eskom, has been deported from the UK to face charges of corruption and fraud.

Michael Lomas is accused of backtracking on contracts between his firm, Tubular Construction, and Eskom for work on the Kusile power station, which was worth more than 1.5bn rand ($85m: £64m).

“It is suspected that he was using contracts. He was previously arrested, got bail and fled to the UK,” national police spokesperson Brigadier Athlenda Mathe told AFP.

He has not yet commented on the allegations against him.

Eskom has been plagued by allegations of corruption and is struggling to recover from mismanagement that has led to long-term blackouts in the country.

Mr Lomas arrived at the OR Tambo Airport in Johannesburg on Friday morning. He was in a wheelchair and was escorted by the police.

Ms Mathe told the local news website News24 that one of the conditions for being sent home is to have a doctor on the plane due to Mr Lomas’s poor health.

He will be formally charged at Kempton Park Magistrates’ Court later on Friday.

The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) asked for Mr Lomas’s extradition in 2022, but it was delayed when he lodged an appeal, which was eventually dismissed.

He is accused along with four other alleged conspirators – two senior officials at Eskom and two other businessmen. They were arrested in 2019.

Four other men were charged with fraud, money laundering and corruption for allegedly taking the bags and increasing the cost of the work done at the Kusile power station.

This was meant to help alleviate South Africa’s power shortage but the project has been plagued by delays and errors, according to AFP.

Mr Mathe said Mr Lomas is a “wanted fugitive” who will be handed over to the Hawks, a police unit that investigates economic crimes, corruption and organized crime.

The Hawks have been working on this case since 2017, when an employee filed a complaint against one of the tenders.