The Exclusive Investigating Unit has discovered 5 accounting companies that aided loot Lottery resources. Graphic: Lisa Nelson
The Exclusive Investigating Device has determined five accounting and auditing corporations that helped non-income companies loot Lottery cash supposed for “fantastic causes”.
The accounting firms compiled fraudulent monetary statements employed by these organizations to make an application for Lottery funding, the SIU told Parliament.
Performing Main nationwide investigations officer Zodwa Xesibe explained the SIU would get motion to own these companies blacklisted.
A four-12 months probe by the ตรวจ Particular Investigating Device (SIU) has uncovered five accounting and auditing firms that served dodgy non-profit providers loot many hundreds of millions of rands meant for “great will cause” from your Lottery.
These companies were being explained with the SIU as “Expert enablers,” who “compiled fraudulent economic statements” that were used by the companies to make an application for Lottery funding.
The five firms ended up named in Parliament because of the SIU’s acting Main national investigations officer Zodwa Xesibe. They are TTP Consulting, Dzata Accountants, Magodi Consulting, Mageba Ntuli Consulting and Tafta Consulting and Accounting Services.
Fraudulent financials produced by these 5 accounting companies helped approximately 40 companies get their palms on lottery funding, according to the SIU presentation.
According to a tool containing details with all lottery grants since 2002, these corporations got around R314-million in funding.
“These NPCs ended up funded by the National Lotteries Fee (NLC) however the cash weren't employed for their supposed purpose,” Xesibe explained to Parliament’s Trade, Marketplace and Levels of competition Portfolio Committee final week.
The SIU, the Hawks as well as Nationwide Prosecuting Authority (NPA) were being in Parliament to report to the committee on progress in bringing individuals and organisations linked to looting the lottery to book.
Xesibe explained to GroundUp the SIU meant to lodge grievances versus the accounting firms included and was examining if these corporations had been registered and, If that's so, with which Skilled bodies.
“We wish these firms for being blacklisted,” she informed GroundUp.
To qualify for Lottery funding, an organisation was needed to create two yrs of once-a-year monetary statements, Xesibe described in Parliament.
On the other hand, being an ongoing six-yr investigation into lottery corruption by GroundUp has disclosed, hijacked non-financial gain organisations (NPOs) or new shelf non-gain corporations (NPCs) without money monitor documents ended up accustomed to apply for funding.
In some instances, almost similar monetary statements were generated for unrelated organisations, typically with only the names on the organisations improved, GroundUp’s investigation discovered.
Documents submitted by genuine NPCs for unsuccessful grant programs have been often used by new or hijacked NPCs and NPOs to make an application for funding. The small print and documents of your unsuccessful applicants were supplied by senior Lottery officials to the dodgy applicants.
With cursory or - often - no verification, these dodgy applicants were awarded numerous rands in grants. From time to time additional tranches of funds had been paid out without having A great deal checking within the progress of jobs.
The overwhelming majority of those grants were designed through proactive funding, which was at the center of your looting from the lottery. Proactive funding permitted the Minister of Trade, Market and Competition, or the NLC along with its board, to detect results in to fund without first necessitating an application. This was stopped any time a new NLC board was appointed.
R2-billion in grants underneath investigation
SIU head Advocate Andy Mothibi reported the SIU was now investigating grants valued at in excess of R2-billion, as well as the device was however frequently obtaining suggestion-offs about extra corruption.
He advised MPs which the SIU’s investigation had been broken into 3 phases: the first, which has been finalised, probed dodgy grants amounting to R280-million, and the next, also done, associated R247-million. Inside the third period, due to be finalised at the conclusion of the calendar year, the SIU is investigating grants valued at almost R906-million, involving 40 NPOs and NPCs, Mothibi explained.
He mentioned which the SIU would utilize “quickly” for your Presidential Proclamation, originally granted in October 2020 to investigate corruption involving lottery grants, to be prolonged to include procurement by the NLC.
The SIU investigation experienced up to now led to 13 disciplinary referrals into the NLC, and administrative referrals to SARS and the Companies and Intellectual Houses Fee to blacklist people implicated inside the looting. Issues involving two people had been referred on the Lawful Exercise Council as well as the SA Institute of Chartered Accountants.
The SIU had observed a number of trends under the prior NLC board and executive - many of whom are already implicated in looting - Mothibi explained to MPs.
This incorporated a “pattern of collusion amongst NLC officials and NPOs and NPCs”, “the hijacking of NPOs and NPCs” and “general maladministration in the acceptance of grants,” he stated.
Gradual progress because of the NPA
The SIU has frozen houses, Houses, cars together with other assets value tens of tens of millions which were acquired with lottery resources, but MPs expressed concern at slow progress in prosecuting These involved in the looting. (The SIU is mandated only to Recuperate assets acquired with stolen point out cash and does not have prosecuting powers).
Even though the SIU has referred 15 matters to the NPA, so far only two folks have been introduced right before a court docket. Two Adult men appeared in court in Kimberley not too long ago in reference to misappropriated money collected for just a job to battle gender-primarily based violence.
In August 2022 Christopher Tshivule was sentenced to 8 yrs in prison for his component inside of a R1.5-million lottery grant fraud. Prices against two persons billed with him, who the SIU has described as “kingpins” from the corruption that overwhelmed the NLC, had been dropped.
Big-General Mmeli Makinyane, the acting divisional commissioner for priority offences, advised MPs which the Hawks ended up currently investigating sixteen lottery corruption-similar cases. Yet another a single - the Kimberley make a difference - is prior to a court and two have been despatched on the NPA for a choice to prosecute. An extra five instances are increasingly being investigated through the SAPS detective and forensic solutions, he reported.
Describing The explanations with the hold off in prosecutions, NPA Deputy National Director Rodney de Kock mentioned part of The rationale was which the Hawks needed to do additional investigations if they received dossiers from your SIU.
“In essence, the investigations carried out because of the SIU do not satisfy criminal requirements for prosecutions.”
For that reason, the NPA had to work with investigators within the DPCI (the Hawks) and SAPS to perform felony investigations and be sure that the evidence fulfills criminal prosecution standards, he reported, including: “Having said that, the perform of your SIU is significant and contributes significantly to this process.”
De Kock claimed which the SIU’s investigation “generally ends in numerous referrals. The referrals may well ultimately bring about just one docket and just one court docket circumstance.”
He said that 12 issues, that happen to be “roughly 85% total”, have been staying jointly investigated by the Hawks and the SIU’s Specialised Financial Operations Device. (Most of these circumstances, seven of which ended up lodged in 2020, entail previous NLC chief running officer Phillemon Letwaba, who resigned below a cloud in 2022, and Pretoria law firm Leslie Ramulifho.)
De Kock claimed the NPA faced many “troubles” in prosecuting scenarios. These, he stated, bundled
the lapse of your time between if the offences were being dedicated and the issuing on the Presidential Proclamation on one November 2020;
“unavailability of witnesses and/or documentary proof” (Previously this calendar year, the SIU explained to the committee that essential paperwork necessary in some prosecutions were deleted through the NLC Pc system or experienced gone lacking from Metrofile, a warehouse wherever copies of documents are archived and saved);
The truth that some implicated folks remain employed by NLC; and
A problem towards the legality with the Presidential Proclamation by former NLC chairperson Alfred Nevhutanda.
“The NPA is devoted to making sure finalisation in these issues. To this stop, a workforce of dedicated prosecutors has become allotted to supervise all NLC issues currently under investigation,” de Kock mentioned. “Matters are dealt with for a precedence. The moment [the] investigations are completed, the NPA will make a call.”
What the businesses say (or don’t)
GroundUp was only able to get remark from one of many five businesses accused from the SIU in Parliament of manufacturing fraudulent yearly fiscal statements,TTP Consulting.
Aubrey Moeng, certainly one of TTP’s two administrators, explained in an e mail in response to issues: “On account of consumer confidentiality, we wish to suggest that TTP Consulting is not really willing to disclose clients’ economical confidential data with the general public or media … with no consent from the consumer or maybe a authorized rationale.”
The organization can be a “lover” of quite a few point out entities, together with SARS as well as CIPC, Based on its Web site.
Neither of The 2 directors of Dzata Accountants, who will be both equally outlined as inactive over the CIPC register of corporations, responded to emailed concerns. The corporation has become deregistered by the CIPC for failing to submit fiscal statements because 2021.
The only director of Mageba Ntuli Investing and Consulting Service, Patrick Zulu, died a few many years in the past, As outlined by Formal data. The corporate was deregistered via the CIPC for failing to post fiscal statements due to the fact 2021.
Matamela Magodi, the only director of Magodi Consultants, didn't respond to inquiries emailed to him.
GroundUp was unable to find any listing for Tafta Consulting and Accounting Services with the CIPC. We were also not able to trace any of the business’s administrators to ask for comment.