The Exclusive Investigating Device has discovered five accounting firms that assisted loot Lottery resources. Graphic: Lisa Nelson
The Particular Investigating Device has discovered five accounting and auditing firms that assisted non-profit corporations loot Lottery money intended for “excellent will cause”.
The accounting corporations compiled fraudulent economical statements employed by these companies to apply for Lottery funding, the SIU told Parliament.
Performing chief national investigations officer Zodwa Xesibe stated the SIU would take motion to own these firms blacklisted.
A 4-yr probe through the หวย ลาว ล่าสุด Specific Investigating Unit (SIU) has exposed 5 accounting and auditing corporations that aided dodgy non-financial gain corporations loot many a lot of rands intended for “great causes” within the Lottery.
These companies were described by the SIU as “Qualified enablers,” who “compiled fraudulent monetary statements” which were employed by the companies to make an application for Lottery funding.
The 5 companies have been named in Parliament via the SIU’s acting chief national investigations officer Zodwa Xesibe. They can be TTP Consulting, Dzata Accountants, Magodi Consulting, Mageba Ntuli Consulting and Tafta Consulting and Accounting Products and services.
Fraudulent financials made by these 5 accounting corporations aided approximately forty corporations get their palms on lottery funding, based on the SIU presentation.
Based upon a Device that contains information with all lottery grants because 2002, these businesses bought about R314-million in funding.
“These NPCs have been funded by the Countrywide Lotteries Fee (NLC) but the cash weren't made use of for their supposed goal,” Xesibe told Parliament’s Trade, Market and Competition Portfolio Committee final 7 days.
The SIU, the Hawks and also the Nationwide Prosecuting Authority (NPA) ended up in Parliament to report back to the committee on progress in bringing folks and organisations linked to looting the lottery to guide.
Xesibe advised GroundUp the SIU intended to lodge problems against the accounting companies associated and was checking if these firms ended up registered and, If that is so, with which professional bodies.
“We wish these corporations to become blacklisted,” she advised GroundUp.
To qualify for Lottery funding, an organisation was needed to make two several years of yearly financial statements, Xesibe explained in Parliament.
On the other hand, being an ongoing 6-year investigation into lottery corruption by GroundUp has discovered, hijacked non-gain organisations (NPOs) or new shelf non-financial gain companies (NPCs) without having economic track documents ended up utilized to apply for funding.
In a few instances, Just about identical money statements have been manufactured for unrelated organisations, usually with just the names of the organisations adjusted, GroundUp’s investigation found.
Files submitted by real NPCs for unsuccessful grant apps have been normally used by new or hijacked NPCs and NPOs to apply for funding. The details and files from the unsuccessful applicants had been provided by senior Lottery officials to the dodgy applicants.
With cursory or - usually - no verification, these dodgy applicants had been awarded an incredible number of rands in grants. Often extra tranches of money were paid out out with out Significantly examining on the development of tasks.
The overwhelming majority of such grants have been produced through proactive funding, which was at the guts of your looting of your lottery. Proactive funding authorized the Minister of Trade, Field and Competitors, or the NLC together with its board, to determine results in to fund devoid of very first demanding an application. This was stopped each time a new NLC board was appointed.
R2-billion in grants under investigation
SIU head Advocate Andy Mothibi explained the SIU was currently investigating grants valued at above R2-billion, and the device was nonetheless on a regular basis acquiring idea-offs about more corruption.
He told MPs which the SIU’s investigation were damaged into 3 phases: the main, that has been finalised, probed dodgy grants amounting to R280-million, and the next, also finished, involved R247-million. During the 3rd stage, as a result of be finalised at the end of the year, the SIU is investigating grants valued at almost R906-million, involving 40 NPOs and NPCs, Mothibi said.
He claimed that the SIU would implement “soon” for that Presidential Proclamation, originally granted in Oct 2020 to analyze corruption involving lottery grants, for being prolonged to include procurement via the NLC.
The SIU investigation had to date triggered thirteen disciplinary referrals towards the NLC, and administrative referrals to SARS and the Companies and Intellectual Houses Fee to blacklist folks implicated from the looting. Problems involving two people had been referred to the Legal Observe Council and also the SA Institute of Chartered Accountants.
The SIU had noticed quite a few tendencies beneath the prior NLC board and executive - lots of whom are implicated in looting - Mothibi advised MPs.
This integrated a “development of collusion among NLC officers and NPOs and NPCs”, “the hijacking of NPOs and NPCs” and “standard maladministration in the approval of grants,” he claimed.
Gradual progress because of the NPA
The SIU has frozen homes, Houses, cars and various belongings really worth tens of thousands and thousands which were acquired with lottery cash, but MPs expressed issue at gradual development in prosecuting All those involved with the looting. (The SIU is mandated only to Get well assets bought with stolen state resources and doesn't have prosecuting powers).
When the SIU has referred 15 matters into the NPA, thus far only two people have been introduced in advance of a courtroom. Two Males appeared in court docket in Kimberley just lately in connection with misappropriated cash gathered for the project to battle gender-based violence.
In August 2022 Christopher Tshivule was sentenced to eight yrs in jail for his element inside of a R1.5-million lottery grant fraud. Expenses from two people charged with him, who the SIU has referred to as “kingpins” while in the corruption that overcome the NLC, ended up dropped.
Important-General Mmeli Makinyane, the performing divisional commissioner for precedence offences, instructed MPs the Hawks have been at the moment investigating 16 lottery corruption-associated instances. Another a person - the Kimberley subject - is just before a court docket and two are already sent on the NPA for a decision to prosecute. An additional 5 circumstances are now being investigated by the SAPS detective and forensic expert services, he stated.
Detailing The explanations with the delay in prosecutions, NPA Deputy National Director Rodney de Kock claimed Element of The main reason was the Hawks had to do more investigations whenever they acquired dossiers through the SIU.
“In essence, the investigations undertaken via the SIU never satisfy prison criteria for prosecutions.”
For that reason, the NPA experienced to work with investigators during the DPCI (the Hawks) and SAPS to carry out prison investigations and be certain that the proof meets legal prosecution benchmarks, he explained, introducing: “That said, the get the job done from the SIU is significant and contributes tremendously to this process.”
De Kock explained that the SIU’s investigation “typically ends in various referrals. The referrals may in the end cause one particular docket and just one courtroom situation.”
He stated that twelve matters, which can be “roughly eighty five% full”, were remaining jointly investigated with the Hawks and also the SIU’s Specialised Financial Functions Unit. (These types of instances, seven of which were being lodged in 2020, include former NLC Main functioning officer Phillemon Letwaba, who resigned below a cloud in 2022, and Pretoria law firm Leslie Ramulifho.)
De Kock stated the NPA faced many “worries” in prosecuting instances. These, he mentioned, involved
the lapse of your time between when the offences have been fully commited along with the issuing from the Presidential Proclamation on 1 November 2020;
“unavailability of witnesses and/or documentary evidence” (Before this calendar year, the SIU told the committee that vital paperwork necessary in some prosecutions were deleted with the NLC Laptop or computer process or had long gone missing from Metrofile, a warehouse exactly where copies of files are archived and stored);
The point that some implicated individuals remain employed by NLC; and
A problem to the legality of the Presidential Proclamation by former NLC chairperson Alfred Nevhutanda.
“The NPA is dedicated to guaranteeing finalisation in these matters. To this stop, a workforce of dedicated prosecutors has long been allotted to supervise all NLC issues currently below investigation,” de Kock mentioned. “Matters are dealt with like a priority. As soon as [the] investigations are finished, the NPA can make a call.”
What the businesses say (or don’t)
GroundUp was only able to get remark from one of the 5 corporations accused through the SIU in Parliament of producing fraudulent yearly monetary statements,TTP Consulting.
Aubrey Moeng, one of TTP’s two administrators, stated within an email in reaction to concerns: “Due to customer confidentiality, we desire to recommend that TTP Consulting is just not prepared to divulge consumers’ financial confidential info with the public or media … without the consent in the consumer or possibly a authorized cause.”
The business can be a “lover” of various condition entities, which includes SARS and also the CIPC, In accordance with its website.
Neither of the two administrators of Dzata Accountants, who're both stated as inactive around the CIPC sign-up of companies, responded to emailed inquiries. The corporation has become deregistered via the CIPC for failing to post financial statements given that 2021.
The only director of Mageba Ntuli Buying and selling and Consulting Company, Patrick Zulu, died a few many years in the past, In line with Formal data. The corporate was deregistered with the CIPC for failing to submit economic statements due to the fact 2021.
Matamela Magodi, the only director of Magodi Consultants, didn't reply to queries emailed to him.
GroundUp was struggling to obtain any listing for Tafta Consulting and Accounting Products and services Along with the CIPC. We have been also not able to trace any of the company’s directors to request remark.