The Unique Investigating Unit has recognized five accounting corporations that assisted loot Lottery money. Graphic: Lisa Nelson
The Specific Investigating Unit has determined five accounting and auditing corporations that aided non-gain businesses loot Lottery revenue meant for “good will cause”.
The accounting corporations compiled fraudulent monetary statements used by these corporations to apply for Lottery funding, the SIU instructed Parliament.
Performing Main nationwide investigations officer Zodwa Xesibe claimed the SIU would take action to own these corporations blacklisted.
A four-yr probe because of the ltpbet Exclusive Investigating Unit (SIU) has exposed five accounting and auditing companies that assisted dodgy non-gain businesses loot many countless rands meant for “excellent triggers” from your Lottery.
These firms had been described from the SIU as “professional enablers,” who “compiled fraudulent economical statements” that were employed by the companies to apply for Lottery funding.
The 5 firms had been named in Parliament from the SIU’s performing chief countrywide investigations officer Zodwa Xesibe. They can be TTP Consulting, Dzata Accountants, Magodi Consulting, Mageba Ntuli Consulting and Tafta Consulting and Accounting Companies.
Fraudulent financials produced by these 5 accounting corporations assisted virtually 40 corporations get their fingers on lottery funding, in accordance with the SIU presentation.
According to a Device containing info with all lottery grants given that 2002, these corporations got above R314-million in funding.
“These NPCs had been funded because of the Nationwide Lotteries Fee (NLC) although the money weren't applied for their meant objective,” Xesibe explained to Parliament’s Trade, Sector and Opposition Portfolio Committee previous week.
The SIU, the Hawks along with the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) had been in Parliament to report back to the committee on progress in bringing people today and organisations involved with looting the lottery to reserve.
Xesibe instructed GroundUp the SIU meant to lodge problems in opposition to the accounting corporations involved and was checking if these companies were registered and, If that is so, with which professional bodies.
“We want these organizations being blacklisted,” she explained to GroundUp.
To qualify for Lottery funding, an organisation was required to develop two years of annual economical statements, Xesibe explained in Parliament.
Nevertheless, being an ongoing six-12 months investigation into lottery corruption by GroundUp has uncovered, hijacked non-earnings organisations (NPOs) or new shelf non-earnings corporations (NPCs) without having fiscal track documents have been utilized to make an application for funding.
In a few circumstances, almost similar financial statements have been created for unrelated organisations, often with only the names of your organisations transformed, GroundUp’s investigation found.
Files submitted by legitimate NPCs for unsuccessful grant purposes were being usually utilized by new or hijacked NPCs and NPOs to apply for funding. The details and documents of your unsuccessful applicants were equipped by senior Lottery officers to your dodgy applicants.
With cursory or - typically - no verification, these dodgy applicants had been awarded millions of rands in grants. Sometimes further tranches of funds ended up compensated out without having much checking on the development of jobs.
The vast majority of these grants have been made through proactive funding, which was at the guts of the looting from the lottery. Proactive funding allowed the Minister of Trade, Sector and Opposition, or perhaps the NLC in conjunction with its board, to discover brings about to fund without having very first demanding an application. This was stopped any time a new NLC board was appointed.
R2-billion in grants beneath investigation
SIU head Advocate Andy Mothibi explained the SIU was at present investigating grants valued at above R2-billion, and also the device was nonetheless frequently obtaining tip-offs about a lot more corruption.
He informed MPs which the SIU’s investigation were damaged into three phases: the initial, which has been finalised, probed dodgy grants amounting to R280-million, and the next, also done, associated R247-million. In the 3rd period, as a consequence of be finalised at the conclusion of the calendar year, the SIU is investigating grants valued at Nearly R906-million, involving 40 NPOs and NPCs, Mothibi stated.
He said that the SIU would apply “soon” for the Presidential Proclamation, at first granted in Oct 2020 to analyze corruption involving lottery grants, to become prolonged to incorporate procurement through the NLC.
The SIU investigation had so far led to 13 disciplinary referrals towards the NLC, and administrative referrals to SARS and the businesses and Intellectual Attributes Commission to blacklist persons implicated in the looting. Issues involving two people had been referred for the Authorized Observe Council as well as SA Institute of Chartered Accountants.
The SIU experienced noticed many traits underneath the previous NLC board and government - lots of whom have already been implicated in looting - Mothibi advised MPs.
This included a “trend of collusion 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 via the NPA
The SIU has frozen homes, Houses, vehicles as well as other belongings well worth tens of hundreds of thousands which were purchased with lottery resources, but MPs expressed problem at gradual progress in prosecuting All those linked to the looting. (The SIU is mandated only to Get better belongings bought with stolen state funds and doesn't have prosecuting powers).
Though the SIU has referred fifteen matters towards the NPA, up to now only two people have been introduced right before a court. Two men appeared in court docket in Kimberley not long ago in reference to misappropriated money gathered for the venture to combat gender-based violence.
In August 2022 Christopher Tshivule was sentenced to 8 years in prison for his part in the R1.five-million lottery grant fraud. Costs from two individuals charged with him, who the SIU has called “kingpins” within the corruption that overcome the NLC, were being dropped.
Main-Standard Mmeli Makinyane, the acting divisional commissioner for priority offences, informed MPs that the Hawks had been at the moment investigating 16 lottery corruption-related instances. An additional a single - the Kimberley make a difference - is before a court docket and two are already sent to your NPA for a choice to prosecute. An extra five scenarios are being investigated by the SAPS detective and forensic products and services, he explained.
Conveying the reasons to the hold off in prosecutions, NPA Deputy Countrywide Director Rodney de Kock said Portion of the reason was which the Hawks needed to do additional investigations if they received dossiers from your SIU.
“In essence, the investigations undertaken through the SIU tend not to fulfill felony expectations for prosecutions.”
For that reason, the NPA had to operate with investigators in the DPCI (the Hawks) and SAPS to perform felony investigations and be certain that the evidence satisfies felony prosecution specifications, he stated, introducing: “That said, the do the job on the SIU is significant and contributes drastically to this method.”
De Kock stated the SIU’s investigation “often leads to various referrals. The referrals might eventually cause a person docket and one court situation.”
He explained that twelve issues, that are “about 85% total”, were becoming jointly investigated because of the Hawks plus the SIU’s Specialised Financial Operations Unit. (The majority of these scenarios, seven of which were being lodged in 2020, entail previous NLC chief running officer Phillemon Letwaba, who resigned less than a cloud in 2022, and Pretoria attorney Leslie Ramulifho.)
De Kock mentioned the NPA faced several “challenges” in prosecuting conditions. These, he mentioned, included
the lapse of time concerning once the offences ended up dedicated as well as issuing from the Presidential Proclamation on 1 November 2020;
“unavailability of witnesses and/or documentary evidence” (Before this year, the SIU informed the committee that crucial paperwork essential in a few prosecutions were deleted within the NLC computer method or experienced absent missing from Metrofile, a warehouse where copies of files are archived and stored);
The truth that some implicated people remain used by NLC; and
A challenge into the legality in the Presidential Proclamation by previous NLC chairperson Alfred Nevhutanda.
“The NPA is dedicated to ensuring finalisation in these matters. To this stop, a crew of committed prosecutors has been allocated to supervise all NLC issues currently less than investigation,” de Kock mentioned. “Matters are dealt with for a precedence. The moment [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 comment from one of several five organizations accused from the SIU in Parliament of manufacturing fraudulent yearly fiscal statements,TTP Consulting.
Aubrey Moeng, one among TTP’s two directors, claimed in an email in reaction to concerns: “Due to shopper confidentiality, we desire to suggest that TTP Consulting is not ready to divulge shoppers’ monetary confidential information and facts with the general public or media … with no consent of the client or even a authorized motive.”
The company is actually a “associate” of various condition entities, like SARS along with the CIPC, As outlined by its Web-site.
Neither of the two directors of Dzata Accountants, who will be equally stated as inactive over the CIPC sign-up of companies, responded to emailed thoughts. The corporation has actually been deregistered from the CIPC for failing to submit economical statements given that 2021.
The only director of Mageba Ntuli Buying and selling and Consulting Assistance, Patrick Zulu, died a few a long time in the past, according to Formal documents. The corporation was deregistered via the CIPC for failing to post economical statements considering the fact that 2021.
Matamela Magodi, the only real director of Magodi Consultants, did not reply to inquiries emailed to him.
GroundUp was unable to find any listing for Tafta Consulting and Accounting Solutions with the CIPC. We ended up also not able to trace any of the company’s directors to request comment.