The Specific Investigating Unit has recognized five accounting firms that assisted loot Lottery cash. Graphic: Lisa Nelson
The Special Investigating Unit has recognized five accounting and auditing firms that aided non-profit organizations loot Lottery funds intended for “good causes”.
The accounting corporations compiled fraudulent monetary statements utilized by these companies to apply for Lottery funding, the SIU explained to Parliament.
Acting chief nationwide investigations officer Zodwa Xesibe claimed the SIU would consider action to own these firms blacklisted.
A 4-year probe with the หวย วัน นี้ Exclusive Investigating Unit (SIU) has exposed five accounting and auditing companies that served dodgy non-financial gain businesses loot many numerous rands intended for “excellent triggers” through the Lottery.
These companies were being described through the SIU as “Qualified enablers,” who “compiled fraudulent money statements” that were used by the businesses to make an application for Lottery funding.
The five providers were being named in Parliament because of the SIU’s acting Main nationwide investigations officer Zodwa Xesibe. They're TTP Consulting, Dzata Accountants, Magodi Consulting, Mageba Ntuli Consulting and Tafta Consulting and Accounting Services.
Fraudulent financials produced by these 5 accounting corporations assisted just about 40 firms get their arms on lottery funding, according to the SIU presentation.
Determined by a Software containing knowledge with all lottery grants considering the fact that 2002, these companies got in excess of R314-million in funding.
“These NPCs were being funded by the National Lotteries Fee (NLC) though the resources weren't utilised for their supposed intent,” Xesibe explained to Parliament’s Trade, Sector and Levels of competition Portfolio Committee previous 7 days.
The SIU, the Hawks as well as Nationwide Prosecuting Authority (NPA) had been in Parliament to report back to the committee on progress in bringing people today and organisations involved in looting the lottery to e book.
Xesibe advised GroundUp which the SIU intended to lodge grievances from the accounting corporations involved and was examining if these firms had been registered and, If that's so, with which Skilled bodies.
“We would like these corporations to be blacklisted,” she told GroundUp.
To qualify for Lottery funding, an organisation was needed to deliver two yrs of yearly money statements, Xesibe stated in Parliament.
Nevertheless, being an ongoing six-calendar year investigation into lottery corruption by GroundUp has discovered, hijacked non-financial gain organisations (NPOs) or new shelf non-income companies (NPCs) without any money track information ended up utilized to submit an application for funding.
In certain situations, Virtually similar money statements were being created for unrelated organisations, typically with only the names on the organisations transformed, GroundUp’s investigation uncovered.
Paperwork submitted by real 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 paperwork of the unsuccessful applicants have been equipped by senior Lottery officials on the dodgy applicants.
With cursory or - frequently - no verification, these dodgy applicants ended up awarded countless rands in grants. From time to time additional tranches of money ended up paid out out without Considerably examining to the development of projects.
The overwhelming majority of such grants were being made by way of proactive funding, which was at the heart of your looting of your lottery. Proactive funding permitted the Minister of Trade, Sector and Levels of competition, or even the NLC together with its board, to determine causes to fund without the need of initially requiring an application. This was stopped any time a new NLC board was appointed.
R2-billion in grants below investigation
SIU head Advocate Andy Mothibi claimed the SIU was presently investigating grants valued at in excess of R2-billion, and the unit was nevertheless on a regular basis acquiring idea-offs about more corruption.
He informed MPs the SIU’s investigation had been broken into a few phases: the first, which has been finalised, probed dodgy grants amounting to R280-million, and the second, also concluded, included R247-million. In the 3rd section, as a consequence of be finalised at the end of the yr, the SIU is investigating grants valued at Pretty much R906-million, involving 40 NPOs and NPCs, Mothibi mentioned.
He explained that the SIU would utilize “before long” with the Presidential Proclamation, initially granted in October 2020 to research corruption involving lottery grants, being extended to incorporate procurement by the NLC.
The SIU investigation experienced to date led to thirteen disciplinary referrals towards the NLC, and administrative referrals to SARS and the businesses and Mental Homes Fee to blacklist people implicated inside the looting. Issues involving two individuals had been referred for the Authorized Follow Council plus the SA Institute of Chartered Accountants.
The SIU experienced observed a number of trends underneath the former NLC board and government - a lot of whom are implicated in looting - Mothibi advised MPs.
This integrated a “development of collusion amongst NLC officers and NPOs and NPCs”, “the hijacking of NPOs and NPCs” and “normal maladministration inside the acceptance of grants,” he said.
Sluggish development from the NPA
The SIU has frozen residences, Qualities, autos and also other belongings really worth tens of hundreds of thousands which were purchased with lottery cash, but MPs expressed worry at sluggish progress in prosecuting People involved with the looting. (The SIU is mandated only to Get well assets bought with stolen point out money and does not have prosecuting powers).
While the SIU has referred fifteen issues on the NPA, to date only two people have been introduced right before a courtroom. Two Males appeared in court docket in Kimberley just lately in reference to misappropriated money gathered for any challenge to overcome gender-based violence.
In August 2022 Christopher Tshivule was sentenced to eight decades 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 described as “kingpins” while in the corruption that overcome the NLC, ended up dropped.
Important-General Mmeli Makinyane, the performing divisional commissioner for precedence offences, advised MPs that the Hawks were presently investigating sixteen lottery corruption-linked conditions. A different just one - the Kimberley subject - is ahead of a court and two have been sent to the NPA for a choice to prosecute. An extra five scenarios are being investigated because of the SAPS detective and forensic solutions, he claimed.
Explaining the reasons with the delay in prosecutions, NPA Deputy National Director Rodney de Kock explained Element of The main reason was the Hawks had to do even more investigations if they gained dossiers with the SIU.
“In essence, the investigations carried out because of the SIU tend not to satisfy criminal benchmarks for prosecutions.”
Thus, the NPA had to operate with investigators from the DPCI (the Hawks) and SAPS to conduct prison investigations and be certain that the proof fulfills prison prosecution specifications, he said, including: “Having said that, the perform of your SIU is very important and contributes enormously to this process.”
De Kock claimed which the SIU’s investigation “often results in numerous referrals. The referrals could in the long run bring about a person docket and one court docket circumstance.”
He claimed that 12 matters, which can be “about 85% complete”, have been becoming jointly investigated by the Hawks as well as SIU’s Specialised Financial Operations Unit. (Many of these conditions, seven of which were being lodged in 2020, include previous NLC Main working officer Phillemon Letwaba, who resigned underneath a cloud in 2022, and Pretoria law firm Leslie Ramulifho.)
De Kock mentioned the NPA confronted several “issues” in prosecuting conditions. These, he stated, provided
the lapse of time amongst if the offences have been dedicated along with the issuing on the Presidential Proclamation on 1 November 2020;
“unavailability of witnesses and/or documentary evidence” (Before this 12 months, the SIU instructed the committee that vital files essential in some prosecutions were deleted through the NLC Personal computer method or experienced gone lacking from Metrofile, a warehouse in which copies of files are archived and stored);
The reality that some implicated people remain used by NLC; and
A challenge on the legality of the Presidential Proclamation by former NLC chairperson Alfred Nevhutanda.
“The NPA is devoted to guaranteeing finalisation in these issues. To this end, a group of devoted prosecutors has become allotted to supervise all NLC matters at the moment underneath investigation,” de Kock claimed. “Issues are managed being a priority. When [the] investigations are finished, the NPA will make a call.”
What the companies say (or don’t)
GroundUp was only capable of get comment from one of the five organizations accused from the SIU in Parliament of manufacturing fraudulent annual economical statements,TTP Consulting.
Aubrey Moeng, one among TTP’s two administrators, mentioned within an email in response to thoughts: “As a result of customer confidentiality, we wish to advise that TTP Consulting will not be prepared to disclose clients’ economic confidential data with the general public or media … without the consent on the customer or maybe a authorized explanation.”
The corporate is often a “husband or wife” of quite a few condition entities, which includes SARS and also the CIPC, Based on its website.
Neither of The 2 directors of Dzata Accountants, that are each mentioned as inactive about the CIPC sign up of firms, responded to emailed questions. The corporate continues to be deregistered with the CIPC for failing to post economical statements given that 2021.
The only director of Mageba Ntuli Buying and selling and Consulting Assistance, Patrick Zulu, died a few decades back, Based on Formal documents. The corporation was deregistered via the CIPC for failing to post economic statements considering that 2021.
Matamela Magodi, the sole director of Magodi Consultants, didn't respond to thoughts emailed to him.
GroundUp was not able to find any listing for Tafta Consulting and Accounting Products and services Along with the CIPC. We had been also not able to trace any of the company’s directors to request remark.