The accountants who helped loot the Lottery

The accountants who helped loot the Lottery

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The Specific Investigating Unit has discovered 5 accounting corporations that helped loot Lottery cash. Graphic: Lisa Nelson

The Special Investigating Device has identified 5 accounting and auditing firms that helped non-financial gain organizations loot Lottery funds meant for “very good triggers”.
The accounting firms compiled fraudulent monetary statements used by these firms to apply for Lottery funding, the SIU explained to Parliament.
Acting Main nationwide investigations officer Zodwa Xesibe mentioned the SIU would acquire action to acquire these companies blacklisted.
A four-12 months probe by the หวย ลาว ล่าสุด Particular Investigating Device (SIU) has uncovered five accounting and auditing companies that helped dodgy non-financial gain corporations loot many numerous rands intended for “fantastic causes” from the Lottery.

These companies had been explained from the SIU as “Skilled enablers,” who “compiled fraudulent economic statements” which were employed by the businesses to submit an application for Lottery funding.

The 5 companies were named in Parliament through the SIU’s acting Main national investigations officer Zodwa Xesibe. They're TTP Consulting, Dzata Accountants, Magodi Consulting, Mageba Ntuli Consulting and Tafta Consulting and Accounting Providers.

Fraudulent financials produced by these five accounting corporations served approximately forty organizations get their arms on lottery funding, based on the SIU presentation.

Depending on a Software containing info with all lottery grants since 2002, these organizations received about R314-million in funding.

“These NPCs were funded because of the Countrywide Lotteries Commission (NLC) even so the funds were not utilized for their intended purpose,” Xesibe informed Parliament’s Trade, Market and Level of competition Portfolio Committee past 7 days.

The SIU, the Hawks plus the Nationwide Prosecuting Authority (NPA) had been in Parliament to report back to the committee on progress in bringing persons and organisations involved in looting the lottery to ebook.

Xesibe explained to GroundUp that the SIU intended to lodge problems from the accounting firms included and was examining if these corporations were registered and, If that is so, with which Specialist bodies.

“We want these corporations to become blacklisted,” she told GroundUp.

To qualify for Lottery funding, an organisation was required to generate two yrs of yearly monetary statements, Xesibe spelled out in Parliament.

Nevertheless, as an ongoing six-year investigation into lottery corruption by GroundUp has discovered, hijacked non-profit organisations (NPOs) or new shelf non-profit businesses (NPCs) with no economic observe information were accustomed to make an application for funding.

In a few situations, Just about similar financial statements ended up created for unrelated organisations, normally with just the names in the organisations adjusted, GroundUp’s investigation found.

Files submitted by legitimate NPCs for unsuccessful grant apps have been frequently used by new or hijacked NPCs and NPOs to make an application for funding. The small print and paperwork on the unsuccessful applicants were equipped by senior Lottery officers to the dodgy applicants.

With cursory or - normally - no verification, these dodgy applicants ended up awarded numerous rands in grants. From time to time more tranches of cash had been compensated out devoid of Substantially examining around the progress of tasks.

The vast majority of those grants have been designed by means of proactive funding, which was at the guts from the looting in the lottery. Proactive funding allowed the Minister of Trade, Business and Level of competition, or maybe the NLC in conjunction with its board, to identify results in to fund without the need of to start with necessitating an software. This was stopped when a new NLC board was appointed.

R2-billion in grants less than investigation
SIU head Advocate Andy Mothibi reported the SIU was at this time investigating grants valued at more than R2-billion, as well as device was nevertheless on a regular basis acquiring idea-offs about extra corruption.

He explained to MPs which the SIU’s investigation were damaged into 3 phases: the very first, which has been finalised, probed dodgy grants amounting to R280-million, and the second, also completed, associated R247-million. From the third section, as a consequence of be finalised at the conclusion of the year, the SIU is investigating grants valued at Pretty much R906-million, involving 40 NPOs and NPCs, Mothibi stated.

He reported the SIU would apply “shortly” for that Presidential Proclamation, originally granted in Oct 2020 to analyze corruption involving lottery grants, for being prolonged to incorporate procurement through the NLC.

The SIU investigation experienced to date triggered 13 disciplinary referrals to your NLC, and administrative referrals to SARS and the Companies and Intellectual Houses Commission to blacklist individuals implicated during the looting. Grievances involving two people had been referred on the Lawful Practice Council along with the SA Institute of Chartered Accountants.

The SIU experienced noticed several developments beneath the past NLC board and govt - lots of whom have already been implicated in looting - Mothibi instructed MPs.

This involved a “craze of collusion involving NLC officials and NPOs and NPCs”, “the hijacking of NPOs and NPCs” and “common maladministration within the acceptance of grants,” he reported.

Gradual development because of the NPA
The SIU has frozen households, Attributes, automobiles together with other assets well worth tens of hundreds of thousands which were bought with lottery cash, but MPs expressed concern at slow progress in prosecuting All those involved in the looting. (The SIU is mandated only to Recuperate assets purchased with stolen condition resources and does not have prosecuting powers).

When the SIU has referred fifteen issues into the NPA, up to now only two individuals have been introduced in advance of a courtroom. Two Gentlemen appeared in courtroom in Kimberley just lately in connection with misappropriated money gathered for your challenge to battle gender-centered violence.

In August 2022 Christopher Tshivule was sentenced to eight a long time in prison for his section in the R1.5-million lottery grant fraud. Charges versus two people charged with him, who the SIU has called “kingpins” inside the corruption that overwhelmed the NLC, ended up dropped.

Significant-Typical Mmeli Makinyane, the acting divisional commissioner for priority offences, instructed MPs that the Hawks have been now investigating 16 lottery corruption-associated situations. A further one - the Kimberley issue - is ahead of a courtroom and two happen to be sent to your NPA for a choice to prosecute. An additional five situations are increasingly being investigated with the SAPS detective and forensic expert services, he explained.

Detailing the reasons to the hold off in prosecutions, NPA Deputy National Director Rodney de Kock explained part of The rationale was that the Hawks had to do even more investigations once they obtained dossiers within the SIU.

“In essence, the investigations undertaken from the SIU tend not to satisfy criminal requirements for prosecutions.”

Consequently, the NPA experienced to operate with investigators while in the DPCI (the Hawks) and SAPS to carry out criminal investigations and ensure that the proof meets felony prosecution specifications, he said, incorporating: “That said, the get the job done from the SIU is important and contributes considerably to this process.”

De Kock claimed that the SIU’s investigation “generally leads to many referrals. The referrals might in the long run bring about a single docket and a single courtroom situation.”

He explained that twelve matters, which happen to be “roughly eighty five% complete”, had been becoming jointly investigated by the Hawks and also the SIU’s Specialised Financial Functions Unit. (Many of these circumstances, 7 of which have been lodged in 2020, include previous NLC chief running officer Phillemon Letwaba, who resigned below a cloud in 2022, and Pretoria law firm Leslie Ramulifho.)

De Kock said the NPA faced various “difficulties” in prosecuting cases. These, he explained, included

the lapse of time among if the offences were committed along with the issuing of your Presidential Proclamation on one November 2020;
“unavailability of witnesses and/or documentary proof” (Before this calendar year, the SIU explained to the committee that key files wanted in a few prosecutions had been deleted from the NLC Personal computer method or experienced absent lacking from Metrofile, a warehouse where by copies of files are archived and saved);
The truth that some implicated people remain employed by NLC; and
A obstacle for the legality of your Presidential Proclamation by former NLC chairperson Alfred Nevhutanda.
“The NPA is devoted to making sure finalisation in these issues. To this stop, a workforce of dedicated prosecutors has actually been allotted to supervise all NLC matters at this time less than investigation,” de Kock said. “Matters are handled like a priority. When [the] investigations are accomplished, the NPA can make a choice.”

What the companies say (or don’t)
GroundUp was only capable to get comment from among the five businesses accused from the SIU in Parliament of manufacturing fraudulent yearly economic statements,TTP Consulting.

Aubrey Moeng, among TTP’s two directors, reported in an electronic mail in response to questions: “As a consequence of consumer confidentiality, we would like to recommend that TTP Consulting just isn't prepared to disclose clients’ fiscal private information and facts with the public or media … without the consent of your client or maybe a lawful rationale.”

The company is really a “companion” of a number of point out entities, together with SARS as well as CIPC, In accordance with its Site.

Neither of The 2 administrators of Dzata Accountants, that are equally stated as inactive to the CIPC sign-up of organizations, responded to emailed queries. The business has long been deregistered via the CIPC for failing to submit financial statements considering the fact that 2021.

The sole director of Mageba Ntuli Buying and selling and Consulting Service, Patrick Zulu, died three several years in the past, according to official records. The business was deregistered through the CIPC for failing to submit monetary statements considering that 2021.

Matamela Magodi, the only director of Magodi Consultants, did not reply to inquiries emailed to him.

GroundUp was not able to discover any listing for Tafta Consulting and Accounting Providers With all the CIPC. We were also not able to trace any of the organization’s administrators to request comment.