The accountants who assisted loot the Lottery
The accountants who assisted loot the Lottery
Blog Article
The Special Investigating Unit has identified five accounting corporations that helped loot Lottery money. Graphic: Lisa Nelson
The Distinctive Investigating Unit has recognized five accounting and auditing companies that served non-financial gain companies loot Lottery income meant for “great will cause”.
The accounting companies compiled fraudulent money statements utilized by these firms to apply for Lottery funding, the SIU explained to Parliament.
Performing chief nationwide investigations officer Zodwa Xesibe reported the SIU would get motion to possess these firms blacklisted.
A four-year probe via the ตรวจ หวย Distinctive Investigating Device (SIU) has exposed 5 accounting and auditing companies that served dodgy non-earnings companies loot countless an incredible number of rands designed for “excellent will cause” with the Lottery.
These companies ended up described through the SIU as “Expert enablers,” who “compiled fraudulent monetary statements” which were utilized by the businesses to make an application for Lottery funding.
The 5 firms had been named in Parliament via the SIU’s acting chief nationwide investigations officer Zodwa Xesibe. They are really TTP Consulting, Dzata Accountants, Magodi Consulting, Mageba Ntuli Consulting and Tafta Consulting and Accounting Products and services.
Fraudulent financials produced by these five accounting corporations aided approximately forty companies get their hands on lottery funding, according to the SIU presentation.
Depending on a Instrument made up of details with all lottery grants because 2002, these businesses got around R314-million in funding.
“These NPCs ended up funded through the Countrywide Lotteries Commission (NLC) but the cash weren't utilised for his or her intended reason,” Xesibe informed Parliament’s Trade, Industry and Levels of competition Portfolio Committee final 7 days.
The SIU, the Hawks and the Nationwide Prosecuting Authority (NPA) have been in Parliament to report back to the committee on development in bringing people today and organisations involved in looting the lottery to ebook.
Xesibe instructed GroundUp the SIU intended to lodge grievances towards the accounting firms involved and was examining if these corporations ended up registered and, If that's so, with which Qualified bodies.
“We would like these organizations for being blacklisted,” she informed GroundUp.
To qualify for Lottery funding, an organisation was required to develop two several years of once-a-year fiscal statements, Xesibe defined in Parliament.
Having said that, as an ongoing six-12 months investigation into lottery corruption by GroundUp has unveiled, hijacked non-profit organisations (NPOs) or new shelf non-income companies (NPCs) without any fiscal keep track of documents were used to apply for funding.
In some situations, Virtually identical monetary statements had been created for unrelated organisations, often with just the names with the organisations transformed, GroundUp’s investigation located.
Documents submitted by legitimate NPCs for unsuccessful grant programs were normally utilized by new or hijacked NPCs and NPOs to submit an application for funding. The small print and files in the unsuccessful applicants ended up supplied by senior Lottery officials to your dodgy applicants.
With cursory or - often - no verification, these dodgy applicants have been awarded many rands in grants. At times more tranches of cash ended up compensated out without the need of A lot checking around the development of jobs.
The overwhelming majority of those grants had been produced by way of proactive funding, which was at the heart of the looting of your lottery. Proactive funding permitted the Minister of Trade, Industry and Competitors, or maybe the NLC along with its board, to determine results in to fund without having first demanding an application. This was stopped each time a new NLC board was appointed.
R2-billion in grants underneath investigation
SIU head Advocate Andy Mothibi stated the SIU was at this time investigating grants valued at over R2-billion, as well as the unit was however frequently getting tip-offs about much more corruption.
He advised MPs the SIU’s investigation had been broken into three phases: the initial, which has been finalised, probed dodgy grants amounting to R280-million, and the second, also finished, involved R247-million. Inside the 3rd period, on account of be finalised at the end of the 12 months, the SIU is investigating grants valued at Nearly R906-million, involving forty NPOs and NPCs, Mothibi mentioned.
He said the SIU would utilize “quickly” with the Presidential Proclamation, originally granted in October 2020 to research corruption involving lottery grants, to be extended to include procurement because of the NLC.
The SIU investigation experienced so far led to 13 disciplinary referrals for the NLC, and administrative referrals to SARS and the Companies and Intellectual Homes Commission to blacklist persons implicated in the looting. Complaints involving two folks had been referred towards the Legal Practice Council and also the SA Institute of Chartered Accountants.
The SIU experienced observed a number of trends beneath the earlier NLC board and govt - lots of whom happen to be implicated in looting - Mothibi explained to MPs.
This provided a “trend of collusion amongst NLC officers and NPOs and NPCs”, “the hijacking of NPOs and NPCs” and “basic maladministration during the approval of grants,” he claimed.
Gradual progress with the NPA
The SIU has frozen homes, Qualities, autos as well as other assets well worth tens of thousands and thousands which were purchased with lottery cash, but MPs expressed worry at sluggish progress in prosecuting Individuals associated with the looting. (The SIU is mandated only to recover belongings purchased with stolen state resources and doesn't have prosecuting powers).
Even though the SIU has referred fifteen issues towards the NPA, up to now only two people have been introduced ahead of a court. Two men appeared in court docket in Kimberley just lately in reference to misappropriated money gathered for your challenge to overcome gender-based violence.
In August 2022 Christopher Tshivule was sentenced to 8 decades in jail for his element inside a R1.five-million lottery grant fraud. Charges in opposition to two individuals charged with him, who the SIU has called “kingpins” in the corruption that overcome the NLC, were dropped.
Main-Normal Mmeli Makinyane, the performing divisional commissioner for priority offences, explained to MPs which the Hawks have been currently investigating sixteen lottery corruption-related cases. An additional one particular - the Kimberley make any difference - is prior to a court and two have been despatched to your NPA for a decision to prosecute. An additional 5 scenarios are now being investigated through the SAPS detective and forensic solutions, he reported.
Describing the reasons with the hold off in prosecutions, NPA Deputy National Director Rodney de Kock stated Section of The key reason why was which the Hawks needed to do further more investigations when they obtained dossiers in the SIU.
“In essence, the investigations undertaken by the SIU don't fulfill felony criteria for prosecutions.”
Hence, the NPA experienced to work with investigators during the DPCI (the Hawks) and SAPS to carry out criminal investigations and ensure that the proof meets prison prosecution specifications, he said, incorporating: “Having said that, the function with the SIU is very important and contributes enormously to this process.”
De Kock mentioned the SIU’s investigation “typically ends in various referrals. The referrals may in the end lead to a single docket and a single court case.”
He stated that 12 issues, which might be “about 85% entire”, ended up currently being jointly investigated from the Hawks and the SIU’s Specialised Financial Operations Device. (Most of these scenarios, seven of which have been lodged in 2020, involve former NLC Main functioning officer Phillemon Letwaba, who resigned below a cloud in 2022, and Pretoria attorney Leslie Ramulifho.)
De Kock reported the NPA faced numerous “troubles” in prosecuting cases. These, he stated, provided
the lapse of time amongst if the offences ended up dedicated plus the issuing with the Presidential Proclamation on 1 November 2020;
“unavailability of witnesses and/or documentary evidence” (Before this 12 months, the SIU advised the committee that important files wanted in a few prosecutions were deleted through the NLC Personal computer system or had long gone missing from Metrofile, a warehouse wherever copies of documents are archived and saved);
the fact that some implicated persons are still employed by NLC; and
A problem into the legality from the Presidential Proclamation by former NLC chairperson Alfred Nevhutanda.
“The NPA is devoted to guaranteeing finalisation in these issues. To this close, a team of dedicated prosecutors has become allocated to oversee all NLC matters currently under investigation,” de Kock stated. “Matters are taken care of for a priority. When [the] investigations are finished, the NPA can make a call.”
What the businesses say (or don’t)
GroundUp was only capable to get comment from on the list of five companies accused via the SIU in Parliament of producing fraudulent once-a-year fiscal statements,TTP Consulting.
Aubrey Moeng, among TTP’s two administrators, said in an e mail in reaction to queries: “Due to consumer confidentiality, we prefer to recommend that TTP Consulting isn't willing to divulge clientele’ fiscal confidential facts with the general public or media … without the consent in the consumer or even a legal reason.”
The company is usually a “lover” of various state entities, including SARS as well as CIPC, As outlined by its Internet site.
Neither of The 2 directors of Dzata Accountants, who will be the two mentioned as inactive within the CIPC sign up of businesses, responded to emailed inquiries. The corporation is deregistered because of the CIPC for failing to post economical statements because 2021.
The sole director of Mageba Ntuli Trading and Consulting Services, Patrick Zulu, died three many years ago, Based on Formal documents. The corporate was deregistered with the CIPC for failing to submit financial statements since 2021.
Matamela Magodi, the only real director of Magodi Consultants, did not reply to queries emailed to him.
GroundUp was struggling to uncover any listing for Tafta Consulting and Accounting Solutions with the CIPC. We have been also struggling to trace any of the organization’s administrators to request remark.