The Distinctive Investigating Unit has recognized 5 accounting companies that helped loot Lottery money. Graphic: Lisa Nelson
The Special Investigating Unit has determined 5 accounting and auditing corporations that served non-earnings companies loot Lottery funds meant for “fantastic causes”.
The accounting firms compiled fraudulent monetary statements used by these organizations to apply for Lottery funding, the SIU informed Parliament.
Acting Main nationwide investigations officer Zodwa Xesibe mentioned the SIU would get action to obtain these companies blacklisted.
A four-12 months probe with the หวย หุ้น ช่อง 9 Special Investigating Device (SIU) has uncovered five accounting and auditing firms that helped dodgy non-profit companies loot hundreds of millions of rands designed for “very good triggers” in the Lottery.
These corporations have been explained through the SIU as “professional enablers,” who “compiled fraudulent fiscal statements” which were used by the companies to submit an application for Lottery funding.
The 5 organizations ended up named in Parliament by the SIU’s acting chief nationwide investigations officer Zodwa Xesibe. These are TTP Consulting, Dzata Accountants, Magodi Consulting, Mageba Ntuli Consulting and Tafta Consulting and Accounting Services.
Fraudulent financials produced by these 5 accounting corporations aided just about forty firms get their fingers on lottery funding, based on the SIU presentation.
Depending on a Instrument containing details with all lottery grants considering the fact that 2002, these corporations acquired more than R314-million in funding.
“These NPCs were being funded with the National Lotteries Commission (NLC) but the cash weren't employed for his or her intended goal,” Xesibe explained to Parliament’s Trade, Market and Competition Portfolio Committee final week.
The SIU, the Hawks plus the Countrywide Prosecuting Authority (NPA) were being in Parliament to report back to the committee on development in bringing people and organisations involved in looting the lottery to book.
Xesibe told GroundUp which the SIU meant to lodge issues in opposition to the accounting firms involved and was examining if these companies had been registered and, if so, with which Experienced bodies.
“We would like these businesses to be blacklisted,” she instructed GroundUp.
To qualify for Lottery funding, an organisation was required to develop two a long time of once-a-year economic statements, Xesibe explained in Parliament.
Even so, being an ongoing 6-year investigation into lottery corruption by GroundUp has unveiled, hijacked non-gain organisations (NPOs) or new shelf non-revenue firms (NPCs) without economical monitor records were being utilized to submit an application for funding.
In certain circumstances, Pretty much identical money statements were made for unrelated organisations, typically with just the names of the organisations improved, GroundUp’s investigation observed.
Paperwork submitted by real NPCs for unsuccessful grant applications have been frequently employed by new or hijacked NPCs and NPOs to make an application for funding. The details and files in the unsuccessful applicants have been provided by senior Lottery officers for the dodgy applicants.
With cursory or - normally - no verification, these dodgy applicants ended up awarded numerous rands in grants. In some cases extra tranches of money ended up compensated out without having much checking to the development of tasks.
The vast majority of these grants ended up designed by using proactive funding, which was at the guts of your looting of your lottery. Proactive funding authorized the Minister of Trade, Field and Competition, or the NLC in conjunction with its board, to detect brings about to fund without initially requiring an application. This was stopped every time a new NLC board was appointed.
R2-billion in grants less than investigation
SIU head Advocate Andy Mothibi stated the SIU was at this time investigating grants valued at over R2-billion, and also the unit was nevertheless often obtaining tip-offs about a lot more corruption.
He advised MPs that the SIU’s investigation were damaged into 3 phases: the initial, which has been finalised, probed dodgy grants amounting to R280-million, and the 2nd, also accomplished, concerned R247-million. In the 3rd stage, due to be finalised at the conclusion of the year, the SIU is investigating grants valued at Just about R906-million, involving 40 NPOs and NPCs, Mothibi mentioned.
He said which the SIU would utilize “soon” with the Presidential Proclamation, originally granted in Oct 2020 to analyze corruption involving lottery grants, to be prolonged to include procurement from the NLC.
The SIU investigation experienced up to now led to 13 disciplinary referrals to your NLC, and administrative referrals to SARS and the Companies and Mental Houses Commission to blacklist persons implicated within the looting. Grievances involving two men and women were referred to the Lawful Observe Council and also the SA Institute of Chartered Accountants.
The SIU experienced noticed various tendencies beneath the previous NLC board and executive - most of whom happen to be implicated in looting - Mothibi explained to MPs.
This integrated a “development of collusion involving NLC officials and NPOs and NPCs”, “the hijacking of NPOs and NPCs” and “typical maladministration while in the acceptance of grants,” he explained.
Slow progress from the NPA
The SIU has frozen homes, Houses, vehicles as well as other property worth tens of hundreds of thousands that were bought with lottery funds, but MPs expressed issue at gradual progress in prosecuting Individuals associated with the looting. (The SIU is mandated only to recover belongings purchased with stolen state resources and does not have prosecuting powers).
Whilst the SIU has referred fifteen matters towards the NPA, to this point only two individuals have been introduced ahead of a court. Two Adult men appeared in court in Kimberley not long ago in connection with misappropriated money collected for your task to fight gender-centered violence.
In August 2022 Christopher Tshivule was sentenced to eight yrs in jail for his element within a R1.five-million lottery grant fraud. Fees in opposition to two individuals charged with him, who the SIU has called “kingpins” while in the corruption that overcome the NLC, ended up dropped.
Big-Typical Mmeli Makinyane, the performing divisional commissioner for precedence offences, advised MPs the Hawks had been at present investigating 16 lottery corruption-related cases. An additional one - the Kimberley make a difference - is prior to a courtroom and two are already sent into the NPA for a decision to prosecute. An extra five situations are being investigated with the SAPS detective and forensic providers, he reported.
Detailing The explanations to the hold off in prosecutions, NPA Deputy Nationwide Director Rodney de Kock said part of The explanation was which the Hawks needed to do more investigations if they received dossiers from your SIU.
“In essence, the investigations undertaken from the SIU tend not to fulfill legal criteria for prosecutions.”
Thus, the NPA had to work with investigators in the DPCI (the Hawks) and SAPS to perform felony investigations and be sure that the evidence satisfies felony prosecution criteria, he said, introducing: “That said, the work with the SIU is vital and contributes tremendously to this process.”
De Kock claimed that the SIU’s investigation “often leads to various referrals. The referrals may well ultimately end in one docket and one court circumstance.”
He said that twelve matters, which happen to be “around eighty five% entire”, were getting jointly investigated via the Hawks as well as SIU’s Specialised Financial Operations Device. (These types of situations, seven of which were being lodged in 2020, require previous NLC chief running officer Phillemon Letwaba, who resigned beneath a cloud in 2022, and Pretoria law firm Leslie Ramulifho.)
De Kock mentioned the NPA confronted numerous “worries” in prosecuting situations. These, he reported, integrated
the lapse of time involving in the event the offences had been dedicated as well as issuing of the Presidential Proclamation on one November 2020;
“unavailability of witnesses and/or documentary evidence” (Earlier this yr, the SIU instructed the committee that critical paperwork required in certain prosecutions were deleted with the NLC computer procedure or had long gone lacking from Metrofile, a warehouse in which copies of files are archived and stored);
the fact that some implicated persons are still utilized by NLC; and
A obstacle for the legality of your Presidential Proclamation by former NLC chairperson Alfred Nevhutanda.
“The NPA is committed to making certain finalisation in these matters. To this close, a team of devoted prosecutors has actually been allotted to oversee all NLC matters at present beneath investigation,” de Kock mentioned. “Matters are handled as being a priority. At the time [the] investigations are done, the NPA could make a choice.”
What the companies say (or don’t)
GroundUp was only in a position to get remark from among the list of five companies accused via the SIU in Parliament of producing fraudulent once-a-year economic statements,TTP Consulting.
Aubrey Moeng, one of TTP’s two directors, said in an electronic mail in response to queries: “Due to consumer confidentiality, we prefer to recommend that TTP Consulting is not willing to divulge clientele’ fiscal private information with the public or media … with no consent of your shopper or a lawful reason.”
The company is usually a “husband or wife” of quite a few condition entities, such as SARS and the CIPC, according to its Web-site.
Neither of the two administrators of Dzata Accountants, who are both equally detailed as inactive over the CIPC register of corporations, responded to emailed inquiries. The company has become deregistered by the CIPC for failing to submit fiscal statements because 2021.
The only director of Mageba Ntuli Buying and selling and Consulting Assistance, Patrick Zulu, died 3 decades back, according to Formal documents. The company was deregistered via the CIPC for failing to post economical statements considering the fact that 2021.
Matamela Magodi, the only director of Magodi Consultants, did not reply to queries emailed to him.
GroundUp was unable to come across any listing for Tafta Consulting and Accounting Companies With all the CIPC. We were also not able to trace any of the company’s directors to ask for remark.