The Particular Investigating Unit has recognized five accounting companies that helped loot Lottery cash. Graphic: Lisa Nelson
The Unique Investigating Device has identified five accounting and auditing companies that aided non-earnings businesses loot Lottery dollars intended for “great brings about”.
The accounting corporations compiled fraudulent monetary statements used by these organizations to make an application for Lottery funding, the SIU instructed Parliament.
Performing Main national investigations officer Zodwa Xesibe stated the SIU would consider motion to have these firms blacklisted.
A four-yr probe via the fox888 Special Investigating Device (SIU) has uncovered 5 accounting and auditing firms that assisted dodgy non-income corporations loot many hundreds of millions of rands designed for “superior causes” in the Lottery.
These firms have been explained via the SIU as “Experienced enablers,” who “compiled fraudulent economic statements” that were utilized by the businesses to apply for Lottery funding.
The five providers had been named in Parliament via the SIU’s acting Main national investigations officer Zodwa Xesibe. These are TTP Consulting, Dzata Accountants, Magodi Consulting, Mageba Ntuli Consulting and Tafta Consulting and Accounting Companies.
Fraudulent financials made by these five accounting firms assisted just about forty providers get their hands on lottery funding, according to the SIU presentation.
Determined by a Resource made up of facts with all lottery grants considering the fact that 2002, these providers bought over R314-million in funding.
“These NPCs were being funded via the Nationwide Lotteries Commission (NLC) but the cash were not used for his or her intended purpose,” Xesibe explained to Parliament’s Trade, Marketplace and Competition Portfolio Committee previous 7 days.
The SIU, the Hawks as well as the Countrywide Prosecuting Authority (NPA) were in Parliament to report to the committee on progress in bringing people and organisations associated with looting the lottery to reserve.
Xesibe informed GroundUp that the SIU meant to lodge problems versus the accounting corporations included and was checking if these firms were being registered and, If that's so, with which Qualified bodies.
“We wish these providers for being blacklisted,” she instructed GroundUp.
To qualify for Lottery funding, an organisation was necessary to produce two years of yearly financial statements, Xesibe stated in Parliament.
Having said that, as an ongoing six-12 months investigation into lottery corruption by GroundUp has exposed, hijacked non-earnings organisations (NPOs) or new shelf non-gain companies (NPCs) with no monetary keep track of data ended up used to submit an application for funding.
In certain cases, Nearly equivalent financial statements have been created for unrelated organisations, generally with just the names on the organisations improved, GroundUp’s investigation identified.
Paperwork submitted by real NPCs for unsuccessful grant programs ended up generally employed by new or hijacked NPCs and NPOs to apply for funding. The main points and files of your unsuccessful applicants ended up equipped by senior Lottery officials on the dodgy applicants.
With cursory or - generally - no verification, these dodgy applicants have been awarded many rands in grants. Sometimes supplemental tranches of resources have been paid out out with no Considerably examining to the progress of initiatives.
The vast majority of those grants were designed by way of proactive funding, which was at the center on the looting with the lottery. Proactive funding permitted the Minister of Trade, Sector and Levels of competition, or perhaps the NLC at the side of its board, to recognize results in to fund without to start with necessitating an software. This was stopped whenever a new NLC board was appointed.
R2-billion in grants under investigation
SIU head Advocate Andy Mothibi explained the SIU was presently investigating grants valued at in excess of R2-billion, as well as the device was nevertheless on a regular basis receiving tip-offs about far more corruption.
He instructed MPs the SIU’s investigation had been broken into a few phases: the very first, that has been finalised, probed dodgy grants amounting to R280-million, and the next, also accomplished, involved R247-million. In the 3rd stage, as a result of be finalised at the conclusion of the 12 months, the SIU is investigating grants valued at Virtually R906-million, involving forty NPOs and NPCs, Mothibi explained.
He stated which the SIU would use “before long” for your Presidential Proclamation, initially granted in Oct 2020 to investigate corruption involving lottery grants, being prolonged to include procurement with the NLC.
The SIU investigation experienced up to now brought about thirteen disciplinary referrals towards the NLC, and administrative referrals to SARS and the businesses and Mental Attributes Commission to blacklist folks implicated while in the looting. Issues involving two people were referred to the Lawful Practice Council and also the SA Institute of Chartered Accountants.
The SIU had noticed various tendencies beneath the prior NLC board and executive - lots of whom are implicated in looting - Mothibi instructed MPs.
This provided a “pattern of collusion in between NLC officers and NPOs and NPCs”, “the hijacking of NPOs and NPCs” and “basic maladministration within the approval of grants,” he reported.
Slow progress via the NPA
The SIU has frozen properties, Attributes, vehicles and various assets truly worth tens of hundreds of thousands that were purchased with lottery money, but MPs expressed problem at slow development in prosecuting Those people linked to the looting. (The SIU is mandated only to Get better property bought with stolen point out cash and does not have prosecuting powers).
Whilst the SIU has referred fifteen matters to the NPA, to this point only two individuals have been introduced right before a courtroom. Two men appeared in court docket in Kimberley just lately in reference to misappropriated funds collected to get a job to combat gender-dependent violence.
In August 2022 Christopher Tshivule was sentenced to 8 many years in prison for his section in the R1.five-million lottery grant fraud. Charges towards two people today charged with him, who the SIU has referred to as “kingpins” while in the corruption that overcome the NLC, ended up dropped.
Important-Typical Mmeli Makinyane, the performing divisional commissioner for priority offences, informed MPs that the Hawks have been at the moment investigating 16 lottery corruption-related instances. Yet another one particular - the Kimberley issue - is prior to a court and two are actually sent towards the NPA for a call to prosecute. A further 5 conditions are increasingly being investigated with the SAPS detective and forensic companies, he mentioned.
Describing The explanations for your hold off in prosecutions, NPA Deputy Countrywide Director Rodney de Kock mentioned part of The explanation was that the Hawks had to do additional investigations whenever they been given dossiers within the SIU.
“In essence, the investigations carried out from the SIU don't satisfy criminal specifications for prosecutions.”
As a result, the NPA had to operate with investigators inside the DPCI (the Hawks) and SAPS to conduct prison investigations and ensure that the proof meets felony prosecution specifications, he said, incorporating: “Having said that, the perform of your SIU is very important and contributes enormously to this process.”
De Kock explained which the SIU’s investigation “often leads to many referrals. The referrals may in the end cause one particular docket and just one courtroom scenario.”
He explained that 12 matters, which can be “about 85% complete”, were being being jointly investigated via the Hawks as well as SIU’s Specialised Financial Operations Device. (Many of these conditions, seven of which ended up lodged in 2020, include former NLC Main functioning officer Phillemon Letwaba, who resigned under a cloud in 2022, and Pretoria attorney Leslie Ramulifho.)
De Kock claimed the NPA confronted several “problems” in prosecuting scenarios. These, he reported, integrated
the lapse of time amongst in the event the offences were being fully commited plus the issuing of your Presidential Proclamation on one November 2020;
“unavailability of witnesses and/or documentary proof” (Previously this yr, the SIU informed the committee that important documents desired in a few prosecutions had been deleted from the NLC Laptop or computer technique or had absent lacking from Metrofile, a warehouse the place copies of files are archived and stored);
The reality that some implicated people remain used by NLC; and
A obstacle for the legality with the Presidential Proclamation by previous NLC chairperson Alfred Nevhutanda.
“The NPA is committed to guaranteeing finalisation in these issues. To this conclusion, a team of devoted prosecutors has actually been allotted to oversee all NLC matters at present beneath investigation,” de Kock explained. “Matters are dealt with as being a priority. When [the] investigations are concluded, the NPA is likely to make a choice.”
What the businesses say (or don’t)
GroundUp was only in the position to get comment from among the list of five businesses accused by the SIU in Parliament of producing fraudulent once-a-year fiscal statements,TTP Consulting.
Aubrey Moeng, one among TTP’s two administrators, mentioned within an email in response to issues: “Because of customer confidentiality, we wish to advise that TTP Consulting just isn't ready to disclose purchasers’ economical private information with the general public or media … with no consent of your shopper or simply a lawful rationale.”
The company is actually a “spouse” of numerous state entities, such as SARS and also the CIPC, In accordance with its Internet site.
Neither of the two directors of Dzata Accountants, who will be both equally listed as inactive on the CIPC sign up of companies, responded to emailed issues. The business is deregistered via the CIPC for failing to submit money statements given that 2021.
The only director of Mageba Ntuli Investing and Consulting Company, Patrick Zulu, died a few a long time in the past, In keeping with Formal data. The corporation was deregistered by the CIPC for failing to post fiscal statements due to the fact 2021.
Matamela Magodi, the only director of Magodi Consultants, did not reply to issues emailed to him.
GroundUp was not able to locate any listing for Tafta Consulting and Accounting Providers Using the CIPC. We were being also unable to trace any of the corporation’s directors to request remark.