The Particular Investigating Unit has determined five accounting companies that helped loot Lottery cash. Graphic: Lisa Nelson
The Unique Investigating Unit has discovered 5 accounting and auditing firms that aided non-profit corporations loot Lottery cash meant for “fantastic leads to”.
The accounting firms compiled fraudulent fiscal statements utilized by these corporations to submit an application for Lottery funding, the SIU explained to Parliament.
Performing Main countrywide investigations officer Zodwa Xesibe reported the SIU would consider action to own these companies blacklisted.
A four-calendar year probe because of the หวย หุ้น ช่อง 9 Particular Investigating Device (SIU) has exposed five accounting and auditing companies that aided dodgy non-gain providers loot countless numerous rands meant for “great triggers” within the Lottery.
These firms were being described from the SIU as “Qualified enablers,” who “compiled fraudulent monetary statements” that were utilized by the businesses to submit an application for Lottery funding.
The five providers had been named in Parliament because of the SIU’s performing Main countrywide investigations officer Zodwa Xesibe. They're TTP Consulting, Dzata Accountants, Magodi Consulting, Mageba Ntuli Consulting and Tafta Consulting and Accounting Expert services.
Fraudulent financials produced by these five accounting corporations assisted practically forty companies get their palms on lottery funding, in accordance with the SIU presentation.
According to a Software containing info with all lottery grants considering that 2002, these corporations received in excess of R314-million in funding.
“These NPCs were being funded because of the National Lotteries Commission (NLC) but the cash weren't used for their intended reason,” Xesibe explained to Parliament’s Trade, Business and Competition Portfolio Committee last 7 days.
The SIU, the Hawks plus the Nationwide Prosecuting Authority (NPA) had been in Parliament to report to the committee on development in bringing men and women and organisations involved with looting the lottery to e-book.
Xesibe explained to GroundUp that the SIU intended to lodge issues from the accounting firms involved and was checking if these companies have been registered and, If that's so, with which Experienced bodies.
“We wish these firms to get blacklisted,” she instructed GroundUp.
To qualify for Lottery funding, an organisation was necessary to generate two many years of once-a-year fiscal statements, Xesibe described in Parliament.
Even so, as an ongoing six-calendar year investigation into lottery corruption by GroundUp has uncovered, hijacked non-gain organisations (NPOs) or new shelf non-revenue corporations (NPCs) with no monetary monitor data ended up utilized to submit an application for funding.
In certain occasions, almost identical monetary statements have been developed for unrelated organisations, typically with only the names from the organisations modified, GroundUp’s investigation located.
Documents submitted by genuine NPCs for unsuccessful grant purposes have been frequently employed by new or hijacked NPCs and NPOs to apply for funding. The main points and documents on the unsuccessful applicants had been equipped by senior Lottery officials to your dodgy applicants.
With cursory or - generally - no verification, these dodgy applicants had been awarded millions of rands in grants. Often supplemental tranches of funds had been paid out out devoid of much checking over the development of initiatives.
The overwhelming majority of those grants have been created by way of proactive funding, which was at the heart of the looting of your lottery. Proactive funding permitted the Minister of Trade, Market and Competitiveness, or the NLC in conjunction with its board, to identify will cause to fund without having first necessitating an software. This was stopped when a new NLC board was appointed.
R2-billion in grants beneath investigation
SIU head Advocate Andy Mothibi stated the SIU was at present investigating grants valued at over R2-billion, and the device was nevertheless consistently getting suggestion-offs about additional corruption.
He told MPs the SIU’s investigation were damaged into a few phases: the 1st, that has been finalised, probed dodgy grants amounting to R280-million, and the 2nd, also completed, involved R247-million. Within the 3rd phase, on account of be finalised at the end of the year, the SIU is investigating grants valued at Nearly R906-million, involving 40 NPOs and NPCs, Mothibi reported.
He stated that the SIU would utilize “shortly” for your Presidential Proclamation, at first granted in October 2020 to analyze corruption involving lottery grants, to get prolonged to include procurement with the NLC.
The SIU investigation had to this point resulted in 13 disciplinary referrals into the NLC, and administrative referrals to SARS and the Companies and Intellectual Houses Fee to blacklist individuals implicated inside the looting. Issues involving two people were referred to your Lawful Observe Council and the SA Institute of Chartered Accountants.
The SIU experienced noticed various traits under the prior NLC board and government - many of whom have already been implicated in looting - Mothibi advised MPs.
This incorporated a “trend of collusion concerning NLC officials and NPOs and NPCs”, “the hijacking of NPOs and NPCs” and “general maladministration from the approval of grants,” he explained.
Gradual progress with the NPA
The SIU has frozen homes, Homes, cars and trucks together with other assets well worth tens of tens of millions which were acquired with lottery funds, but MPs expressed concern at gradual development in prosecuting those involved in the looting. (The SIU is mandated only to recover assets acquired with stolen condition cash and does not have prosecuting powers).
Whilst the SIU has referred fifteen issues for the NPA, up to now only two folks have been brought just before a court docket. Two Gentlemen appeared in courtroom in Kimberley not too long ago in reference to misappropriated funds gathered for any challenge to fight gender-centered violence.
In August 2022 Christopher Tshivule was sentenced to eight a long time in jail for his part in the R1.five-million lottery grant fraud. Charges in opposition to two people billed with him, who the SIU has called “kingpins” within the corruption that overcome the NLC, ended up dropped.
Major-Common Mmeli Makinyane, the acting divisional commissioner for precedence offences, instructed MPs which the Hawks ended up now investigating sixteen lottery corruption-connected circumstances. Yet another 1 - the Kimberley matter - is right before a court and two are actually sent into the NPA for a decision to prosecute. An additional 5 circumstances are increasingly being investigated through the SAPS detective and forensic products and services, he claimed.
Outlining The explanations to the hold off in prosecutions, NPA Deputy National Director Rodney de Kock explained A part of The rationale was which the Hawks needed to do even more investigations when they acquired dossiers with the SIU.
“In essence, the investigations carried out via the SIU do not satisfy prison benchmarks for prosecutions.”
Consequently, the NPA experienced to operate with investigators from the DPCI (the Hawks) and SAPS to perform legal investigations and make certain that the evidence meets legal prosecution requirements, he mentioned, adding: “Having said that, the perform of your SIU is important and contributes enormously to this process.”
De Kock claimed that the SIU’s investigation “generally results in many referrals. The referrals could ultimately cause a person docket and 1 courtroom situation.”
He claimed that twelve matters, which are “around 85% full”, have been currently being jointly investigated via the Hawks and the SIU’s Specialised Financial Functions Unit. (Many of these instances, 7 of which had been lodged in 2020, involve former NLC Main functioning officer Phillemon Letwaba, who resigned below a cloud in 2022, and Pretoria lawyer Leslie Ramulifho.)
De Kock explained the NPA faced quite a few “worries” in prosecuting situations. These, he stated, involved
the lapse of your time in between once the offences have been committed plus the issuing of your Presidential Proclamation on one November 2020;
“unavailability of witnesses and/or documentary proof” (Before this calendar year, the SIU told the committee that crucial documents required in some prosecutions were deleted from the NLC Personal computer program or had long gone missing from Metrofile, a warehouse where by copies of paperwork are archived and saved);
The truth that some implicated individuals remain employed by NLC; and
A problem to the legality in the Presidential Proclamation by previous NLC chairperson Alfred Nevhutanda.
“The NPA is committed to making certain finalisation in these matters. To this close, a group of devoted prosecutors has been allocated to oversee all NLC matters now under investigation,” de Kock stated. “Matters are handled like a priority. As soon as [the] investigations are finished, the NPA can make a decision.”
What the businesses say (or don’t)
GroundUp was only ready to get remark from among the list of five businesses accused from the SIU in Parliament of manufacturing fraudulent once-a-year money statements,TTP Consulting.
Aubrey Moeng, amongst TTP’s two administrators, mentioned within an e-mail in reaction to issues: “On account of consumer confidentiality, we wish to suggest that TTP Consulting is not really ready to disclose clientele’ financial confidential facts with the general public or media … with no consent from the customer or a authorized explanation.”
The company is actually a “husband or wife” of several point out entities, including SARS and also the CIPC, Based on its Web site.
Neither of The 2 directors of Dzata Accountants, who are both listed as inactive over the CIPC sign-up of firms, responded to emailed queries. The organization continues to be deregistered via the CIPC for failing to submit economical statements given that 2021.
The only director of Mageba Ntuli Investing and Consulting Service, Patrick Zulu, died three yrs back, Based on official information. The corporate was deregistered via the CIPC for failing to post economical statements since 2021.
Matamela Magodi, the only real director of Magodi Consultants, didn't respond to questions emailed to him.
GroundUp was struggling to obtain any listing for Tafta Consulting and Accounting Services with the CIPC. We were being also not able to trace any of the company’s directors to request comment.