The accountants who assisted loot the Lottery

The accountants who assisted loot the Lottery

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The Exclusive Investigating Unit has identified 5 accounting companies that helped loot Lottery cash. Graphic: Lisa Nelson

The Particular Investigating Device has identified five accounting and auditing companies that served non-earnings businesses loot Lottery dollars supposed for “great will cause”.
The accounting corporations compiled fraudulent financial statements used by these organizations to make an application for Lottery funding, the SIU explained to Parliament.
Performing Main countrywide investigations officer Zodwa Xesibe claimed the SIU would choose motion to acquire these companies blacklisted.
A four-year probe via the ผล หวย ลาว วัน นี้ Unique Investigating Unit (SIU) has exposed five accounting and auditing firms that helped dodgy non-revenue organizations loot many hundreds of an incredible number of rands designed for “fantastic causes” with the Lottery.

These corporations were being explained by the SIU as “Skilled enablers,” who “compiled fraudulent fiscal statements” that were employed by the businesses to submit an application for Lottery funding.

The five firms ended up named in Parliament through the SIU’s performing Main nationwide investigations officer Zodwa Xesibe. They are really TTP Consulting, Dzata Accountants, Magodi Consulting, Mageba Ntuli Consulting and Tafta Consulting and Accounting Services.

Fraudulent financials made by these five accounting corporations aided virtually 40 companies get their palms on lottery funding, in accordance with the SIU presentation.

Determined by a tool that contains data with all lottery grants given that 2002, these firms obtained about R314-million in funding.

“These NPCs ended up funded via the Countrywide Lotteries Commission (NLC) even so the funds weren't used for his or her meant reason,” Xesibe instructed Parliament’s Trade, Marketplace and Competitors Portfolio Committee final 7 days.

The SIU, the Hawks plus the Nationwide Prosecuting Authority (NPA) were in Parliament to report to the committee on progress in bringing people today and organisations involved in looting the lottery to ebook.

Xesibe explained to GroundUp which the SIU meant to lodge problems against the accounting firms involved and was examining if these companies ended up registered and, If that's so, with which Experienced bodies.

“We wish these firms being blacklisted,” she instructed GroundUp.

To qualify for Lottery funding, an organisation was necessary to produce two decades of yearly economic statements, Xesibe defined in Parliament.

However, being an ongoing six-12 months investigation into lottery corruption by GroundUp has uncovered, hijacked non-gain organisations (NPOs) or new shelf non-earnings businesses (NPCs) without financial monitor information ended up utilized to submit an application for funding.

In some cases, Just about equivalent money statements were being produced for unrelated organisations, frequently with just the names of the organisations changed, GroundUp’s investigation found.

Files submitted by authentic NPCs for unsuccessful grant applications were being generally used by new or hijacked NPCs and NPOs to submit an application for funding. The small print and documents of the unsuccessful applicants ended up supplied by senior Lottery officials to the dodgy applicants.

With cursory or - typically - no verification, these dodgy applicants were awarded millions of rands in grants. At times supplemental tranches of funds have been compensated out with out Considerably examining to the progress of jobs.

The vast majority of these grants had been manufactured by way of proactive funding, which was at the heart of your looting on the lottery. Proactive funding authorized the Minister of Trade, Business and Opposition, or maybe the NLC in conjunction with its board, to discover leads to to fund without having initially demanding an software. This was stopped each time a new NLC board was appointed.

R2-billion in grants beneath investigation
SIU head Advocate Andy Mothibi explained the SIU was presently investigating grants valued at over R2-billion, and also the device was nonetheless regularly getting idea-offs about much more corruption.

He instructed MPs which the SIU’s investigation were damaged into a few phases: the initial, that has been finalised, probed dodgy grants amounting to R280-million, and the 2nd, also done, included R247-million. From the third phase, on account of be finalised at the end of the year, the SIU is investigating grants valued at Nearly R906-million, involving forty NPOs and NPCs, Mothibi claimed.

He mentioned that the SIU would implement “quickly” with the Presidential Proclamation, initially granted in Oct 2020 to investigate corruption involving lottery grants, to generally be extended to include procurement by the NLC.

The SIU investigation had to this point led to 13 disciplinary referrals into the NLC, and administrative referrals to SARS and the Companies and Intellectual Homes Commission to blacklist persons implicated during the looting. Complaints involving two folks had been referred for the Legal Apply Council and also the SA Institute of Chartered Accountants.

The SIU had noticed quite a few traits beneath the preceding NLC board and government - many of whom have been implicated in looting - Mothibi explained to MPs.

This involved a “pattern of collusion concerning NLC officials and NPOs and NPCs”, “the hijacking of NPOs and NPCs” and “typical maladministration while in the acceptance of grants,” he stated.

Sluggish development through the NPA
The SIU has frozen residences, properties, automobiles as well as other property worthy of tens of hundreds of thousands that were purchased with lottery cash, but MPs expressed issue at gradual development in prosecuting All those linked to the looting. (The SIU is mandated only to Get better property bought with stolen state resources and doesn't have prosecuting powers).

When the SIU has referred 15 issues to your NPA, to date only two people have been introduced just before a court docket. Two Gentlemen appeared in court in Kimberley not long ago in connection with misappropriated cash gathered for any challenge to fight gender-centered violence.

In August 2022 Christopher Tshivule was sentenced to 8 a long time in prison for his section inside a R1.5-million lottery grant fraud. Fees versus two people billed with him, who the SIU has described as “kingpins” within the corruption that overcome the NLC, have been dropped.

Key-Normal Mmeli Makinyane, the acting divisional commissioner for priority offences, told MPs which the Hawks were being currently investigating sixteen lottery corruption-associated scenarios. An additional just one - the Kimberley matter - is ahead of a courtroom and two are actually despatched to the NPA for a decision to prosecute. A further five instances are being investigated from the SAPS detective and forensic providers, he mentioned.

Detailing the reasons for the hold off in prosecutions, NPA Deputy Nationwide Director Rodney de Kock stated part of the reason was the Hawks had to do further more investigations whenever they obtained dossiers within the SIU.

“In essence, the investigations undertaken via the SIU usually do not fulfill prison expectations for prosecutions.”

Hence, the NPA had to work with investigators while in the DPCI (the Hawks) and SAPS to perform prison investigations and make certain that the evidence fulfills legal prosecution criteria, he claimed, introducing: “Having said that, the do the job of your SIU is important and contributes significantly to this method.”

De Kock claimed the SIU’s investigation “usually results in various referrals. The referrals may perhaps in the long run lead to one docket and a person courtroom circumstance.”

He mentioned that twelve matters, which might be “around eighty five% total”, ended up being jointly investigated with the Hawks and the SIU’s Specialised Economic Operations Unit. (A large number of cases, seven of which were lodged in 2020, include former NLC chief operating officer Phillemon Letwaba, who resigned under a cloud in 2022, and Pretoria lawyer Leslie Ramulifho.)

De Kock said the NPA confronted quite a few “worries” in prosecuting conditions. These, he claimed, involved

the lapse of time between in the event the offences ended up committed and the issuing with the Presidential Proclamation on 1 November 2020;
“unavailability of witnesses and/or documentary proof” (Before this yr, the SIU told the committee that essential documents essential in certain prosecutions had been deleted through the NLC computer technique or experienced long gone lacking from Metrofile, a warehouse exactly where copies of paperwork are archived and stored);
The reality that some implicated people today remain used by NLC; and
A obstacle to the legality from the Presidential Proclamation by former NLC chairperson Alfred Nevhutanda.
“The NPA is dedicated to making sure finalisation in these issues. To this conclude, a crew of devoted prosecutors is allocated to supervise all NLC matters presently less than investigation,” de Kock reported. “Matters are taken care of for a priority. At the time [the] investigations are accomplished, the NPA will make a choice.”

What the businesses say (or don’t)
GroundUp was only capable to get remark from one of several 5 businesses accused because of the SIU in Parliament of producing fraudulent annual fiscal statements,TTP Consulting.

Aubrey Moeng, one of TTP’s two directors, mentioned in an e mail in response to issues: “Due to client confidentiality, we want to advise that TTP Consulting isn't willing to disclose purchasers’ economical private data with the public or media … with no consent with the consumer or perhaps a lawful explanation.”

The business is really a “husband or wife” of many state entities, which include SARS as well as the CIPC, according to its Internet site.

Neither of The 2 administrators of Dzata Accountants, who are both equally listed as inactive within the CIPC sign-up of providers, responded to emailed questions. The business has actually been deregistered via the CIPC for failing to post money statements since 2021.

The only real director of Mageba Ntuli Investing and Consulting Provider, Patrick Zulu, died 3 many years back, In keeping with Formal records. The company was deregistered via the CIPC for failing to submit financial statements considering the fact that 2021.

Matamela Magodi, the only director of Magodi Consultants, didn't respond to issues emailed to him.

GroundUp was unable to come across any listing for Tafta Consulting and Accounting Solutions While using the CIPC. We had been also not able to trace any of the corporation’s directors to ask for comment.