The accountants who served loot the Lottery
The accountants who served loot the Lottery
Blog Article
The Special Investigating Unit has discovered five accounting companies that aided loot Lottery funds. Graphic: Lisa Nelson
The Distinctive Investigating Unit has identified 5 accounting and auditing firms that assisted non-gain providers loot Lottery funds intended for “excellent results in”.
The accounting corporations compiled fraudulent financial statements utilized by these firms to make an application for Lottery funding, the SIU instructed Parliament.
Performing chief nationwide investigations officer Zodwa Xesibe claimed the SIU would consider action to own these companies blacklisted.
A four-calendar year probe by the fox888 Exclusive Investigating Device (SIU) has uncovered five accounting and auditing companies that served dodgy non-financial gain firms loot hundreds of millions of rands meant for “very good causes” from your Lottery.
These companies ended up explained from the SIU as “Qualified enablers,” who “compiled fraudulent monetary statements” which were utilized by the companies to apply for Lottery funding.
The 5 firms were being named in Parliament because of the SIU’s performing chief national investigations officer Zodwa Xesibe. These are TTP Consulting, Dzata Accountants, Magodi Consulting, Mageba Ntuli Consulting and Tafta Consulting and Accounting Expert services.
Fraudulent financials produced by these five accounting companies served practically forty businesses get their palms on lottery funding, according to the SIU presentation.
Dependant on a tool that contains details with all lottery grants given that 2002, these companies acquired about R314-million in funding.
“These NPCs ended up funded because of the Countrywide Lotteries Fee (NLC) but the resources weren't used for his or her meant goal,” Xesibe instructed Parliament’s Trade, Field and Competitiveness Portfolio Committee final week.
The SIU, the Hawks as well as the Nationwide Prosecuting Authority (NPA) have been in Parliament to report to the committee on development in bringing people today and organisations associated with looting the lottery to guide.
Xesibe informed GroundUp which the SIU meant to lodge grievances towards the accounting corporations associated and was checking if these companies had been registered and, if so, with which professional bodies.
“We want these firms to be blacklisted,” she informed GroundUp.
To qualify for Lottery funding, an organisation was necessary to deliver two several years of once-a-year money statements, Xesibe stated in Parliament.
Nevertheless, as an ongoing six-year investigation into lottery corruption by GroundUp has disclosed, hijacked non-income organisations (NPOs) or new shelf non-profit corporations (NPCs) with no fiscal track records ended up accustomed to make an application for funding.
In a few situations, almost equivalent economical statements have been made for unrelated organisations, normally with only the names on the organisations adjusted, GroundUp’s investigation located.
Files submitted by genuine NPCs for unsuccessful grant programs ended up typically utilized by new or hijacked NPCs and NPOs to make an application for funding. The details and documents of the unsuccessful applicants were being equipped by senior Lottery officers into the dodgy applicants.
With cursory or - often - no verification, these dodgy applicants had been awarded an incredible number of rands in grants. In some cases more tranches of funds were compensated out without the need of A great deal checking within the progress of jobs.
The overwhelming majority of these grants were being designed by way of proactive funding, which was at the center from the looting of your lottery. Proactive funding allowed the Minister of Trade, Field and Competition, or perhaps the NLC at the side of its board, to discover leads to to fund with no to start with requiring an software. This was stopped whenever a new NLC board was appointed.
R2-billion in grants underneath investigation
SIU head Advocate Andy Mothibi reported the SIU was now investigating grants valued at around R2-billion, as well as unit was still regularly receiving suggestion-offs about additional corruption.
He advised MPs that the SIU’s investigation had been damaged into three phases: the main, which has been finalised, probed dodgy grants amounting to R280-million, and the next, also finished, included R247-million. Within the third period, because of be finalised at the conclusion of the calendar year, the SIU is investigating grants valued at Virtually R906-million, involving 40 NPOs and NPCs, Mothibi explained.
He explained the SIU would use “shortly” with the Presidential Proclamation, at first granted in Oct 2020 to analyze corruption involving lottery grants, to be extended to incorporate procurement via the NLC.
The SIU investigation experienced to this point triggered 13 disciplinary referrals towards the NLC, and administrative referrals to SARS and the businesses and Intellectual Properties Fee to blacklist folks implicated in the looting. Issues involving two folks were referred to the Legal Observe Council along with the SA Institute of Chartered Accountants.
The SIU experienced observed numerous developments beneath the past NLC board and executive - most of whom are already implicated in looting - Mothibi advised MPs.
This provided a “development of collusion between NLC officers and NPOs and NPCs”, “the hijacking of NPOs and NPCs” and “typical maladministration during the approval of grants,” he stated.
Gradual progress through the NPA
The SIU has frozen homes, Attributes, cars and trucks together with other property value tens of millions which were bought with lottery resources, but MPs expressed concern at sluggish development in prosecuting those involved with the looting. (The SIU is mandated only to Get better property acquired with stolen point out cash and does not have prosecuting powers).
Even though the SIU has referred fifteen matters towards the NPA, to date only two individuals have been introduced right before a court docket. Two Adult males appeared in courtroom in Kimberley a short while ago in reference to misappropriated cash collected for any undertaking to fight gender-based violence.
In August 2022 Christopher Tshivule was sentenced to 8 decades in jail for his component in a R1.five-million lottery grant fraud. Expenses against two people today charged with him, who the SIU has described as “kingpins” during the corruption that confused the NLC, had been dropped.
Important-General Mmeli Makinyane, the acting divisional commissioner for priority offences, informed MPs that the Hawks had been at present investigating 16 lottery corruption-similar instances. One more one particular - the Kimberley subject - is before a court and two have been despatched on the NPA for a choice to prosecute. A further 5 instances are now being investigated through the SAPS detective and forensic expert services, he explained.
Detailing The explanations with the hold off in prosecutions, NPA Deputy National Director Rodney de Kock claimed Portion of The key reason why was that the Hawks had to do more investigations every time they obtained dossiers through the SIU.
“In essence, the investigations undertaken through the SIU tend not to satisfy criminal requirements for prosecutions.”
Therefore, the NPA experienced to work with investigators within the DPCI (the Hawks) and SAPS to perform felony investigations and be certain that the evidence fulfills criminal prosecution benchmarks, he explained, adding: “Having said that, the perform of your SIU is significant and contributes significantly to this method.”
De Kock said that the SIU’s investigation “generally brings about multiple referrals. The referrals could eventually end in a person docket and one court case.”
He stated that 12 issues, that are “roughly 85% complete”, were being jointly investigated from the Hawks and also the SIU’s Specialised Financial Functions Unit. (Most of these conditions, seven of which were being lodged in 2020, require former NLC Main working officer Phillemon Letwaba, who resigned less than a cloud in 2022, and Pretoria lawyer Leslie Ramulifho.)
De Kock claimed the NPA confronted numerous “troubles” in prosecuting instances. These, he reported, incorporated
the lapse of time among if the offences were being fully commited and also the issuing in the Presidential Proclamation on 1 November 2020;
“unavailability of witnesses and/or documentary evidence” (Before this calendar year, the SIU told the committee that key files desired in certain prosecutions had been deleted in the NLC Personal computer system or experienced gone lacking from Metrofile, a warehouse the place copies of documents are archived and stored);
The point that some implicated persons are still utilized by NLC; and
A obstacle on the legality in the Presidential Proclamation by previous NLC chairperson Alfred Nevhutanda.
“The NPA is committed to making sure finalisation in these issues. To this conclude, a team of dedicated prosecutors has become allotted to supervise all NLC issues currently below investigation,” de Kock mentioned. “Matters are dealt with being a priority. At the time [the] investigations are done, the NPA will make a call.”
What the businesses say (or don’t)
GroundUp was only ready to get remark from on the list of 5 organizations accused through the SIU in Parliament of manufacturing fraudulent yearly monetary statements,TTP Consulting.
Aubrey Moeng, one of TTP’s two administrators, stated within an electronic mail in response to thoughts: “Resulting from consumer confidentiality, we wish to advise that TTP Consulting will not be prepared to divulge consumers’ economical confidential details with the general public or media … with no consent from the customer or a lawful reason.”
The organization is actually a “associate” of many condition entities, like SARS as well as the CIPC, In line with its Web site.
Neither of The 2 administrators of Dzata Accountants, who're both of those stated as inactive to the CIPC register of corporations, responded to emailed concerns. The corporation is deregistered by the CIPC for failing to submit financial statements due to the fact 2021.
The only real director of Mageba Ntuli Trading and Consulting Support, Patrick Zulu, died a few many years ago, In line with official information. The business was deregistered via the CIPC for failing to post money statements considering the fact that 2021.
Matamela Magodi, the only director of Magodi Consultants, did not reply to issues emailed to him.
GroundUp was not able to uncover any listing for Tafta Consulting and Accounting Companies Together with the CIPC. We were also not able to trace any of the organization’s administrators to ask for remark.