The accountants who served loot the Lottery

The accountants who served loot the Lottery

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The Unique Investigating Device has recognized five accounting companies that assisted loot Lottery cash. Graphic: Lisa Nelson

The Special Investigating Unit has discovered five accounting and auditing firms that helped non-income businesses loot Lottery income meant for “good leads to”.
The accounting corporations compiled fraudulent fiscal statements utilized by these firms to submit an application for Lottery funding, the SIU instructed Parliament.
Performing chief nationwide investigations officer Zodwa Xesibe said the SIU would choose motion to possess these corporations blacklisted.
A four-year probe via the หวย รัฐบาล Specific Investigating Unit (SIU) has uncovered five accounting and auditing companies that helped dodgy non-gain companies loot many hundreds of a lot of rands meant for “fantastic triggers” within the Lottery.

These corporations were explained by the SIU as “Specialist enablers,” who “compiled fraudulent financial statements” which were used by the companies to apply for Lottery funding.

The 5 businesses had been named in Parliament with the SIU’s acting Main countrywide investigations officer Zodwa Xesibe. They may be TTP Consulting, Dzata Accountants, Magodi Consulting, Mageba Ntuli Consulting and Tafta Consulting and Accounting Expert services.

Fraudulent financials produced by these 5 accounting corporations aided approximately forty firms get their fingers on lottery funding, in accordance with the SIU presentation.

Dependant on a Device containing details with all lottery grants because 2002, these businesses bought around R314-million in funding.

“These NPCs have been funded by the National Lotteries Commission (NLC) even so the money weren't employed for their intended goal,” Xesibe explained to Parliament’s Trade, Sector and Opposition Portfolio Committee final 7 days.

The SIU, the Hawks plus the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) were being in Parliament to report back to the committee on progress in bringing individuals and organisations linked to looting the lottery to reserve.

Xesibe instructed GroundUp which the SIU intended to lodge issues towards the accounting companies included and was checking if these companies were registered and, If that is so, with which Experienced bodies.

“We want these businesses to get blacklisted,” she instructed GroundUp.

To qualify for Lottery funding, an organisation was required to create two yrs of once-a-year money statements, Xesibe discussed in Parliament.

Nevertheless, as an ongoing six-calendar year investigation into lottery corruption by GroundUp has uncovered, hijacked non-profit organisations (NPOs) or new shelf non-profit firms (NPCs) without money monitor data had been utilized to submit an application for funding.

In a few scenarios, Virtually equivalent economic statements were developed for unrelated organisations, typically with just the names in the organisations improved, GroundUp’s investigation observed.

Documents submitted by authentic NPCs for unsuccessful grant applications had been normally used by new or hijacked NPCs and NPOs to make an application for funding. The details and paperwork of your unsuccessful applicants were being provided by senior Lottery officials on the dodgy applicants.

With cursory or - normally - no verification, these dodgy applicants were being awarded numerous rands in grants. At times supplemental tranches of cash were being compensated out with no Substantially checking over the progress of tasks.

The overwhelming majority of such grants had been built through proactive funding, which was at the center from the looting on the lottery. Proactive funding permitted the Minister of Trade, Field and Level of competition, or the NLC in conjunction with its board, to determine triggers to fund without the need of first demanding an application. This was stopped whenever a new NLC board was appointed.

R2-billion in grants under investigation
SIU head Advocate Andy Mothibi reported the SIU was at the moment investigating grants valued at over R2-billion, and the device was however often getting idea-offs about a lot more corruption.

He explained to MPs that the SIU’s investigation had been broken into 3 phases: the very first, which has been finalised, probed dodgy grants amounting to R280-million, and the second, also completed, involved R247-million. Inside the third period, due to be finalised at the conclusion of the year, the SIU is investigating grants valued at almost R906-million, involving forty NPOs and NPCs, Mothibi reported.

He stated the SIU would utilize “soon” to the Presidential Proclamation, at first granted in Oct 2020 to analyze corruption involving lottery grants, to generally be prolonged to include procurement via the NLC.

The SIU investigation experienced thus far triggered thirteen disciplinary referrals towards the NLC, and administrative referrals to SARS and the businesses and Mental Houses Fee to blacklist men and women implicated while in the looting. Complaints involving two men and women had been referred to your Lawful Apply Council and the SA Institute of Chartered Accountants.

The SIU had observed various traits underneath the past NLC board and government - a lot of whom are actually implicated in looting - Mothibi explained to MPs.

This integrated a “trend of collusion concerning NLC officers and NPOs and NPCs”, “the hijacking of NPOs and NPCs” and “normal maladministration while in the approval of grants,” he said.

Sluggish development because of the NPA
The SIU has frozen homes, Attributes, autos together with other property well worth tens of tens of millions that were purchased with lottery cash, but MPs expressed issue at gradual development in prosecuting those involved in the looting. (The SIU is mandated only to Recuperate property bought with stolen state funds and does not have prosecuting powers).

Although the SIU has referred fifteen issues to your NPA, to this point only two folks have been brought right before a court docket. Two Guys appeared in court docket in Kimberley not long ago in connection with misappropriated resources collected for just a challenge to battle gender-dependent violence.

In August 2022 Christopher Tshivule was sentenced to eight yrs in prison for his part in the R1.five-million lottery grant fraud. Expenses versus two individuals billed with him, who the SIU has called “kingpins” from the corruption that overwhelmed the NLC, were dropped.

Big-Standard Mmeli Makinyane, the acting divisional commissioner for priority offences, told MPs that the Hawks have been now investigating sixteen lottery corruption-relevant situations. Another just one - the Kimberley make any difference - is prior to a court docket and two have been despatched for the NPA for a decision to prosecute. An additional 5 scenarios are being investigated by the SAPS detective and forensic services, he reported.

Describing The explanations for your hold off in prosecutions, NPA Deputy Countrywide Director Rodney de Kock explained Portion of The key reason why was that the Hawks had to do even further investigations every time they received dossiers from your SIU.

“In essence, the investigations undertaken with the SIU tend not to satisfy legal expectations for prosecutions.”

Thus, the NPA had to operate with investigators in the DPCI (the Hawks) and SAPS to perform felony investigations and be certain that the evidence fulfills criminal prosecution requirements, he said, introducing: “That said, the work with the SIU is significant and contributes tremendously to this method.”

De Kock claimed that the SIU’s investigation “normally leads to multiple referrals. The referrals may perhaps in the end end in 1 docket and just one court docket case.”

He stated that 12 matters, which are “around 85% full”, ended up remaining jointly investigated via the Hawks plus the SIU’s Specialised Financial Operations Device. (Most of these situations, seven of which were being lodged in 2020, contain former NLC Main working officer Phillemon Letwaba, who resigned beneath a cloud in 2022, and Pretoria lawyer Leslie Ramulifho.)

De Kock explained the NPA confronted many “problems” in prosecuting conditions. These, he stated, bundled

the lapse of time in between once the offences were being committed along with the issuing of your Presidential Proclamation on one November 2020;
“unavailability of witnesses and/or documentary proof” (Earlier this year, the SIU informed the committee that essential paperwork wanted in a few prosecutions had been deleted from the NLC Pc technique or had gone lacking from Metrofile, a warehouse in which copies of documents are archived and saved);
The reality that some implicated people remain employed by NLC; and
A problem towards the legality of the Presidential Proclamation by former NLC chairperson Alfred Nevhutanda.
“The NPA is dedicated to making sure finalisation in these matters. To this close, a group of focused prosecutors has been allocated to oversee all NLC matters at present underneath investigation,” de Kock reported. “Issues are taken care of to be a precedence. At the time [the] investigations are done, the NPA could make a choice.”

What the companies say (or don’t)
GroundUp was only in the position to get remark from one of the 5 businesses accused from the SIU in Parliament of manufacturing fraudulent yearly money statements,TTP Consulting.

Aubrey Moeng, considered one of TTP’s two directors, said within an e-mail in reaction to inquiries: “On account of consumer confidentiality, we need to advise that TTP Consulting is just not willing to divulge consumers’ financial confidential information and facts with the public or media … without the consent of your client or possibly a lawful reason.”

The business is often a “partner” of a number of state entities, which includes SARS along with the CIPC, according to its website.

Neither of The 2 directors of Dzata Accountants, who will be both stated as inactive over the CIPC sign-up of companies, responded to emailed thoughts. The corporate continues to be deregistered via the CIPC for failing to submit money statements given that 2021.

The only real director of Mageba Ntuli Investing and Consulting Services, Patrick Zulu, died three yrs back, Based on official information. The business was deregistered with the CIPC for failing to submit money statements due to the fact 2021.

Matamela Magodi, the only real director of Magodi Consultants, did not respond to questions emailed to him.

GroundUp was struggling to come across any listing for Tafta Consulting and Accounting Products and services with the CIPC. We were being also not able to trace any of the corporate’s directors to request comment.