The Special Investigating Unit has determined five accounting firms that aided loot Lottery money. Graphic: Lisa Nelson
The Distinctive Investigating Device has recognized five accounting and auditing companies that assisted non-income companies loot Lottery cash meant for “great will cause”.
The accounting corporations compiled fraudulent fiscal statements employed by these organizations to make an application for Lottery funding, the SIU informed Parliament.
Acting chief nationwide investigations officer Zodwa Xesibe claimed the SIU would take action to obtain these companies blacklisted.
A four-calendar year probe with the ตา ว จ หวย Distinctive Investigating Unit (SIU) has exposed five accounting and auditing companies that served dodgy non-income businesses loot numerous countless rands designed for “very good leads to” through the Lottery.
These companies ended up explained by the SIU as “Skilled enablers,” who “compiled fraudulent fiscal statements” that were employed by the companies to apply for Lottery funding.
The five businesses had been named in Parliament by the SIU’s performing chief countrywide investigations officer Zodwa Xesibe. They are really TTP Consulting, Dzata Accountants, Magodi Consulting, Mageba Ntuli Consulting and Tafta Consulting and Accounting Services.
Fraudulent financials made by these 5 accounting companies helped virtually forty corporations get their arms on lottery funding, according to the SIU presentation.
Based on a Instrument that contains information with all lottery grants due to the fact 2002, these providers got over R314-million in funding.
“These NPCs were funded via the Nationwide Lotteries Commission (NLC) though the money weren't employed for his or her meant purpose,” Xesibe instructed Parliament’s Trade, Business and Competition Portfolio Committee very last 7 days.
The SIU, the Hawks along with the Countrywide Prosecuting Authority (NPA) have been in Parliament to report to the committee on progress in bringing people today and organisations associated with looting the lottery to e book.
Xesibe informed GroundUp that the SIU intended to lodge issues from the accounting companies concerned and was checking if these corporations were being registered and, if so, with which professional bodies.
“We would like these organizations to become blacklisted,” she explained to GroundUp.
To qualify for Lottery funding, an organisation was necessary to produce two yrs of annual money statements, Xesibe described in Parliament.
Nevertheless, as an ongoing 6-calendar year investigation into lottery corruption by GroundUp has uncovered, hijacked non-gain organisations (NPOs) or new shelf non-earnings businesses (NPCs) without economic keep track of records have been utilized to submit an application for funding.
In certain situations, Practically similar fiscal statements ended up generated for unrelated organisations, normally with just the names with the organisations transformed, GroundUp’s investigation identified.
Documents submitted by legitimate NPCs for unsuccessful grant apps have been frequently employed by new or hijacked NPCs and NPOs to submit an application for funding. The small print and documents with the unsuccessful applicants have been equipped by senior Lottery officials for the dodgy applicants.
With cursory or - often - no verification, these dodgy applicants ended up awarded numerous rands in grants. In some cases extra tranches of cash were being compensated out with out Substantially examining on the progress of assignments.
The overwhelming majority of those grants were being made by way of proactive funding, which was at the heart from the looting on the lottery. Proactive funding allowed the Minister of Trade, Industry and Competitors, or maybe the NLC along with its board, to establish will cause to fund without the need of to start with necessitating an software. This was stopped any time a new NLC board was appointed.
R2-billion in grants underneath investigation
SIU head Advocate Andy Mothibi explained the SIU was at present investigating grants valued at over R2-billion, and the unit was still routinely receiving suggestion-offs about more corruption.
He advised MPs which the SIU’s investigation were damaged into a few phases: the primary, that has been finalised, probed dodgy grants amounting to R280-million, and the 2nd, also finished, associated R247-million. While in the third phase, because of be finalised at the end of the 12 months, the SIU is investigating grants valued at Pretty much R906-million, involving forty NPOs and NPCs, Mothibi said.
He stated which the SIU would utilize “before long” with the Presidential Proclamation, originally granted in Oct 2020 to research corruption involving lottery grants, to get extended to include procurement from the NLC.
The SIU investigation experienced thus far brought about 13 disciplinary referrals into the NLC, and administrative referrals to SARS and the Companies and Mental Homes Fee to blacklist men and women implicated during the looting. Complaints involving two men and women were referred to the Legal Follow Council as well as SA Institute of Chartered Accountants.
The SIU experienced noticed many traits under the prior NLC board and executive - most of whom have been implicated in looting - Mothibi told MPs.
This included a “development of collusion concerning NLC officers and NPOs and NPCs”, “the hijacking of NPOs and NPCs” and “basic maladministration in the acceptance of grants,” he stated.
Gradual progress because of the NPA
The SIU has frozen homes, Houses, vehicles along with other belongings worth tens of thousands and thousands which were bought with lottery funds, but MPs expressed concern at sluggish development in prosecuting Individuals involved with the looting. (The SIU is mandated only to recover belongings acquired with stolen state cash and doesn't have prosecuting powers).
Though the SIU has referred 15 matters to your NPA, to this point only two people have been brought just before a court docket. Two Guys appeared in court in Kimberley not long ago in connection with misappropriated money collected for your project to beat gender-centered violence.
In August 2022 Christopher Tshivule was sentenced to eight many years in jail for his component inside of a R1.five-million lottery grant fraud. Costs from two folks billed with him, who the SIU has called “kingpins” while in the corruption that overwhelmed the NLC, were dropped.
Main-Standard Mmeli Makinyane, the performing divisional commissioner for precedence offences, told MPs which the Hawks were being currently investigating 16 lottery corruption-related cases. Another one - the Kimberley make a difference - is prior to a court docket and two are sent to the NPA for a call to prosecute. A further 5 instances are being investigated because of the SAPS detective and forensic providers, he claimed.
Describing the reasons for that hold off in prosecutions, NPA Deputy National Director Rodney de Kock explained Element of The main reason was the Hawks needed to do more investigations when they acquired dossiers from the SIU.
“In essence, the investigations undertaken with the SIU will not satisfy legal criteria for prosecutions.”
Hence, the NPA experienced to operate with investigators while in the DPCI (the Hawks) and SAPS to carry out legal investigations and make sure the proof meets criminal prosecution requirements, he said, introducing: “That said, the perform from the SIU is essential and contributes greatly to this method.”
De Kock stated which the SIU’s investigation “typically results in a number of referrals. The referrals may eventually end in a single docket and just one court docket circumstance.”
He stated that 12 matters, which happen to be “around eighty five% entire”, had been becoming jointly investigated from the Hawks along with the SIU’s Specialised Economic Functions Unit. (These types of conditions, 7 of which have been lodged in 2020, include previous NLC chief operating officer Phillemon Letwaba, who resigned underneath a cloud in 2022, and Pretoria lawyer Leslie Ramulifho.)
De Kock reported the NPA faced quite a few “issues” in prosecuting instances. These, he said, involved
the lapse of time amongst if the offences had been committed as well as issuing from the Presidential Proclamation on 1 November 2020;
“unavailability of witnesses and/or documentary proof” (Before this calendar year, the SIU told the committee that crucial documents needed in certain prosecutions were deleted from the NLC Personal computer technique or had long gone missing from Metrofile, a warehouse in which copies of documents are archived and stored);
The truth that some implicated men and women are still used by NLC; and
A problem to the legality with the Presidential Proclamation by former NLC chairperson Alfred Nevhutanda.
“The NPA is devoted to making sure finalisation in these matters. To this conclude, a team of devoted prosecutors has long been allotted to supervise all NLC matters now under investigation,” de Kock explained. “Matters are managed as a precedence. As soon as [the] investigations are accomplished, the NPA can make a decision.”
What the companies say (or don’t)
GroundUp was only capable of get comment from one of several five organizations accused through the SIU in Parliament of producing fraudulent once-a-year economical statements,TTP Consulting.
Aubrey Moeng, amongst TTP’s two administrators, explained in an e mail in response to concerns: “Due to customer confidentiality, we desire to recommend that TTP Consulting just isn't ready to disclose clients’ economic confidential facts with the general public or media … with no consent in the customer or maybe a lawful rationale.”
The organization is actually a “associate” of numerous state entities, such as SARS and the CIPC, Based on its Web site.
Neither of The 2 directors of Dzata Accountants, who will be both equally shown as inactive around the CIPC sign-up of companies, responded to emailed issues. The company has become deregistered by the CIPC for failing to submit money statements since 2021.
The sole director of Mageba Ntuli Trading and Consulting Services, Patrick Zulu, died 3 several years in the past, according to Formal documents. The company was deregistered by the CIPC for failing to post economical statements given that 2021.
Matamela Magodi, the sole director of Magodi Consultants, didn't reply to queries emailed to him.
GroundUp was unable to obtain any listing for Tafta Consulting and Accounting Products and services While using the CIPC. We have been also struggling to trace any of the corporate’s administrators to ask for remark.