The Special Investigating Device has identified five accounting firms that aided loot Lottery cash. Graphic: Lisa Nelson
The Distinctive Investigating Device has identified 5 accounting and auditing firms that helped non-financial gain companies loot Lottery dollars intended for “superior will cause”.
The accounting companies compiled fraudulent financial statements utilized by these businesses to submit an application for Lottery funding, the SIU instructed Parliament.
Acting Main national investigations officer Zodwa Xesibe claimed the SIU would take action to acquire these corporations blacklisted.
A four-calendar year probe by the ตรวจ หวย ลาว วัน นี้ Specific Investigating Unit (SIU) has exposed 5 accounting and auditing corporations that helped dodgy non-revenue businesses loot hundreds of numerous rands designed for “very good results in” through the Lottery.
These firms were being described by the SIU as “Qualified enablers,” who “compiled fraudulent money statements” which were used by the businesses to make an application for Lottery funding.
The 5 companies ended up named in Parliament because of the SIU’s performing Main countrywide investigations officer Zodwa Xesibe. They may 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 companies aided nearly forty organizations get their palms on lottery funding, based on the SIU presentation.
Determined by a Resource made up of facts with all lottery grants considering the fact that 2002, these firms got in excess of R314-million in funding.
“These NPCs had been funded via the National Lotteries Commission (NLC) nevertheless the cash were not made use of for his or her intended objective,” Xesibe informed Parliament’s Trade, Field and Levels of competition Portfolio Committee past 7 days.
The SIU, the Hawks plus the Countrywide Prosecuting Authority (NPA) were being in Parliament to report to the committee on progress in bringing folks and organisations linked to looting the lottery to ebook.
Xesibe told GroundUp the SIU intended to lodge issues towards the accounting corporations concerned and was examining if these corporations had been registered and, if so, with which professional bodies.
“We want these companies to be blacklisted,” she explained to GroundUp.
To qualify for Lottery funding, an organisation was required to produce two yrs of annual money statements, Xesibe stated in Parliament.
Nonetheless, as an ongoing six-calendar year investigation into lottery corruption by GroundUp has revealed, hijacked non-revenue organisations (NPOs) or new shelf non-revenue companies (NPCs) without having money keep track of records were being accustomed to apply for funding.
In certain occasions, Nearly equivalent money statements ended up developed for unrelated organisations, often with only the names in the organisations altered, GroundUp’s investigation observed.
Files submitted by legitimate NPCs for unsuccessful grant applications were frequently employed by new or hijacked NPCs and NPOs to submit an application for funding. The main points and files with the unsuccessful applicants have been equipped by senior Lottery officers for the dodgy applicants.
With cursory or - often - no verification, these dodgy applicants ended up awarded an incredible number of rands in grants. Occasionally additional tranches of cash were being paid out with no A lot checking within the progress of assignments.
The overwhelming majority of those grants ended up built by using proactive funding, which was at the guts with the looting of your lottery. Proactive funding permitted the Minister of Trade, Sector and Level of competition, or perhaps the NLC along side its board, to detect causes to fund with out initial necessitating an application. This was stopped whenever a new NLC board was appointed.
R2-billion in grants beneath investigation
SIU head Advocate Andy Mothibi mentioned the SIU was at present investigating grants valued at more than R2-billion, and also the unit was nevertheless frequently acquiring idea-offs about a lot more corruption.
He told MPs the SIU’s investigation had been broken into 3 phases: the initial, that has been finalised, probed dodgy grants amounting to R280-million, and the 2nd, also finished, included R247-million. Inside the third period, because of be finalised at the end of the 12 months, the SIU is investigating grants valued at Just about R906-million, involving forty NPOs and NPCs, Mothibi said.
He stated that the SIU would apply “before long” with the Presidential Proclamation, at first granted in October 2020 to analyze corruption involving lottery grants, being extended to include procurement from the NLC.
The SIU investigation experienced to date led to thirteen disciplinary referrals on the NLC, and administrative referrals to SARS and the businesses and Intellectual Attributes Commission to blacklist people today implicated inside the looting. Problems involving two individuals had been referred on the Lawful Observe Council and also the SA Institute of Chartered Accountants.
The SIU had observed several trends underneath the former NLC board and govt - lots of whom are implicated in looting - Mothibi explained to MPs.
This included a “trend of collusion in between NLC officers and NPOs and NPCs”, “the hijacking of NPOs and NPCs” and “normal maladministration from the approval of grants,” he stated.
Slow development through the NPA
The SIU has frozen houses, properties, cars as well as other belongings truly worth tens of thousands and thousands which were acquired with lottery funds, but MPs expressed issue at gradual progress in prosecuting Those people involved in the looting. (The SIU is mandated only to Recuperate belongings acquired with stolen point out resources and does not have prosecuting powers).
Even though the SIU has referred fifteen issues into the NPA, so far only two individuals have been introduced ahead of a courtroom. Two Gentlemen appeared in court in Kimberley lately in reference to misappropriated funds gathered for any task to battle gender-based mostly violence.
In August 2022 Christopher Tshivule was sentenced to 8 yrs in prison for his aspect in the R1.five-million lottery grant fraud. Rates in opposition to two individuals charged with him, who the SIU has called “kingpins” within the corruption that overcome the NLC, were dropped.
Main-Normal Mmeli Makinyane, the acting divisional commissioner for priority offences, informed MPs the Hawks ended up presently investigating 16 lottery corruption-relevant conditions. Yet another one particular - the Kimberley subject - is in advance of a courtroom and two are already sent into the NPA for a call to prosecute. An additional five instances are increasingly being investigated because of the SAPS detective and forensic expert services, he explained.
Describing The explanations to the hold off in prosecutions, NPA Deputy Countrywide Director Rodney de Kock mentioned Portion of the reason was that the Hawks had to do further more investigations after they gained dossiers from the SIU.
“In essence, the investigations undertaken through the SIU will not fulfill felony standards for prosecutions.”
Consequently, the NPA had to work with investigators inside the DPCI (the Hawks) and SAPS to conduct criminal investigations and be sure that the proof meets prison prosecution requirements, he said, introducing: “That said, the work from the SIU is very important and contributes drastically to this process.”
De Kock reported that the SIU’s investigation “generally brings about several referrals. The referrals may possibly ultimately cause one docket and one particular court docket case.”
He mentioned that twelve issues, that are “somewhere around 85% full”, were being becoming jointly investigated because of the Hawks and the SIU’s Specialised Financial Functions Unit. (Most of these scenarios, seven of which were lodged in 2020, involve previous NLC Main working officer Phillemon Letwaba, who resigned under a cloud in 2022, and Pretoria attorney Leslie Ramulifho.)
De Kock mentioned the NPA confronted a number of “problems” in prosecuting cases. These, he reported, involved
the lapse of time involving when the offences have been fully commited along with the issuing of your Presidential Proclamation on 1 November 2020;
“unavailability of witnesses and/or documentary evidence” (Previously this calendar year, the SIU informed the committee that critical files desired in certain prosecutions were deleted in the NLC Personal computer technique or had gone lacking from Metrofile, a warehouse where copies of files are archived and saved);
The reality that some implicated persons are still employed by NLC; and
A obstacle on the legality in the Presidential Proclamation by previous NLC chairperson Alfred Nevhutanda.
“The NPA is devoted to making sure finalisation in these matters. To this conclusion, a group of focused prosecutors has long been allocated to oversee all NLC issues at present less than investigation,” de Kock claimed. “Matters are dealt with for a precedence. When [the] investigations are concluded, the NPA is likely to make a call.”
What the businesses say (or don’t)
GroundUp was only able to get comment from among the list of 5 companies accused by the SIU in Parliament of manufacturing fraudulent yearly money statements,TTP Consulting.
Aubrey Moeng, amongst TTP’s two administrators, stated within an e mail in reaction to thoughts: “As a consequence of customer confidentiality, we would like to recommend that TTP Consulting just isn't prepared to divulge clients’ economical confidential information with the public or media … without the consent of your client or possibly a lawful purpose.”
The corporation is really a “lover” of quite a few point out entities, including SARS as well as the CIPC, As outlined by its Web-site.
Neither of The 2 directors of Dzata Accountants, who will be both of those listed as inactive over the CIPC sign-up of firms, responded to emailed queries. The organization is deregistered by the CIPC for failing to post monetary statements considering the fact that 2021.
The only director of Mageba Ntuli Investing and Consulting Provider, Patrick Zulu, died a few a long time in the past, Based on official data. The corporation was deregistered through the CIPC for failing to submit economic statements due to the fact 2021.
Matamela Magodi, the only director of Magodi Consultants, did not reply to questions emailed to him.
GroundUp was struggling to find any listing for Tafta Consulting and Accounting Providers Together with the CIPC. We have been also unable to trace any of the corporation’s administrators to ask for remark.