The accountants who served loot the Lottery
The accountants who served loot the Lottery
Blog Article
The Exclusive Investigating Device has discovered five accounting corporations that aided loot Lottery money. Graphic: Lisa Nelson
The Particular Investigating Device has identified five accounting and auditing corporations that served non-financial gain providers loot Lottery funds supposed for “excellent triggers”.
The accounting firms compiled fraudulent economic statements employed by these corporations to make an application for Lottery funding, the SIU told Parliament.
Acting Main national investigations officer Zodwa Xesibe stated the SIU would get motion to get these corporations blacklisted.
A four-yr probe from the luckyvip77 Special Investigating Device (SIU) has uncovered 5 accounting and auditing companies that served dodgy non-financial gain businesses loot hundreds of a lot of rands meant for “superior causes” from your Lottery.
These firms had been described with the SIU as “professional enablers,” who “compiled fraudulent monetary statements” which were utilized by the companies to apply for Lottery funding.
The five providers ended up named in Parliament because of the SIU’s acting chief nationwide investigations officer Zodwa Xesibe. They may be TTP Consulting, Dzata Accountants, Magodi Consulting, Mageba Ntuli Consulting and Tafta Consulting and Accounting Services.
Fraudulent financials produced by these five accounting firms assisted virtually 40 corporations get their palms on lottery funding, in accordance with the SIU presentation.
Dependant on a tool that contains data with all lottery grants considering the fact that 2002, these businesses acquired around R314-million in funding.
“These NPCs were being funded by the Countrywide Lotteries Fee (NLC) however the funds weren't applied for their intended purpose,” Xesibe explained to Parliament’s Trade, Marketplace and Levels of competition Portfolio Committee very last week.
The SIU, the Hawks and also the Nationwide Prosecuting Authority (NPA) were in Parliament to report to the committee on development in bringing men and women and organisations linked to looting the lottery to guide.
Xesibe advised GroundUp which the SIU meant to lodge complaints towards the accounting companies concerned and was checking if these companies had been registered and, In that case, with which Specialist bodies.
“We want these firms to get blacklisted,” she instructed GroundUp.
To qualify for Lottery funding, an organisation was needed to deliver two years of once-a-year money statements, Xesibe discussed in Parliament.
Even so, as an ongoing 6-year investigation into lottery corruption by GroundUp has disclosed, hijacked non-income organisations (NPOs) or new shelf non-revenue companies (NPCs) without any economical track records have been utilized to submit an application for funding.
In certain instances, Practically similar financial statements were made for unrelated organisations, typically with only the names in the organisations transformed, GroundUp’s investigation located.
Paperwork submitted by real NPCs for unsuccessful grant programs had been frequently used by new or hijacked NPCs and NPOs to submit an application for funding. The main points and paperwork on the unsuccessful applicants had been supplied by senior Lottery officers to your dodgy applicants.
With cursory or - typically - no verification, these dodgy applicants had been awarded countless rands in grants. Occasionally supplemental tranches of money were paid out without Significantly examining on the progress of initiatives.
The overwhelming majority of these grants had been built through proactive funding, which was at the guts of your looting of the lottery. Proactive funding allowed the Minister of Trade, Market and Levels of competition, or perhaps the NLC at the side of its board, to establish triggers to fund with no 1st requiring an software. This was stopped whenever a new NLC board was appointed.
R2-billion in grants less than investigation
SIU head Advocate Andy Mothibi mentioned the SIU was now investigating grants valued at in excess of R2-billion, and the unit was still on a regular basis receiving suggestion-offs about additional corruption.
He explained to MPs that the SIU’s investigation had been broken into three phases: the 1st, that has been finalised, probed dodgy grants amounting to R280-million, and the next, also concluded, included R247-million. From the third stage, resulting from be finalised at the conclusion of the yr, the SIU is investigating grants valued at Practically R906-million, involving 40 NPOs and NPCs, Mothibi stated.
He reported the SIU would apply “quickly” for your Presidential Proclamation, at first granted in Oct 2020 to investigate corruption involving lottery grants, to become prolonged to incorporate procurement because of the NLC.
The SIU investigation had up to now triggered 13 disciplinary referrals towards the NLC, and administrative referrals to SARS and the Companies and Intellectual Homes Fee to blacklist folks implicated during the looting. Problems involving two individuals had been referred for the Authorized Observe Council as well as the SA Institute of Chartered Accountants.
The SIU experienced noticed a number of developments beneath the former NLC board and government - most of whom have already been implicated in looting - Mothibi advised MPs.
This incorporated a “trend of collusion involving NLC officials and NPOs and NPCs”, “the hijacking of NPOs and NPCs” and “basic maladministration while in the acceptance of grants,” he claimed.
Slow development through the NPA
The SIU has frozen homes, properties, cars and trucks and various assets worth tens of millions that were purchased with lottery resources, but MPs expressed concern at slow development in prosecuting People linked to the looting. (The SIU is mandated only to recover property bought with stolen state money and does not have prosecuting powers).
Though the SIU has referred fifteen issues to your NPA, to this point only two folks have been introduced right before a courtroom. Two Adult men appeared in courtroom in Kimberley just lately in connection with misappropriated money gathered for any job to fight gender-based violence.
In August 2022 Christopher Tshivule was sentenced to 8 many years in jail for his section in a very R1.5-million lottery grant fraud. Costs versus two individuals billed with him, who the SIU has described as “kingpins” within the corruption that confused the NLC, have been dropped.
Major-Normal Mmeli Makinyane, the performing divisional commissioner for priority offences, informed MPs the Hawks have been currently investigating 16 lottery corruption-connected scenarios. An additional a single - the Kimberley make any difference - is prior to a court docket and two have been sent for the NPA for a decision to prosecute. An additional five conditions are increasingly being investigated by the SAPS detective and forensic expert services, he explained.
Describing The explanations for your delay in prosecutions, NPA Deputy Countrywide Director Rodney de Kock explained A part of The key reason why was the Hawks needed to do additional investigations when they been given dossiers from your SIU.
“In essence, the investigations carried out via the SIU will not fulfill felony standards for prosecutions.”
Consequently, the NPA had to operate with investigators during the DPCI (the Hawks) and SAPS to perform felony investigations and make sure the evidence meets prison prosecution standards, he reported, introducing: “That said, the function of your SIU is important and contributes considerably to this method.”
De Kock stated the SIU’s investigation “often leads to multiple referrals. The referrals may possibly finally result in a person docket and 1 court case.”
He stated that 12 issues, that are “roughly eighty five% comprehensive”, have been becoming jointly investigated by the Hawks and also the SIU’s Specialised Financial Operations Device. (Many of these cases, seven of which were being lodged in 2020, entail previous NLC Main operating officer Phillemon Letwaba, who resigned underneath a cloud in 2022, and Pretoria law firm Leslie Ramulifho.)
De Kock stated the NPA faced quite a few “difficulties” in prosecuting situations. These, he reported, included
the lapse of your time between when the offences were committed and also the issuing from the Presidential Proclamation on one November 2020;
“unavailability of witnesses and/or documentary proof” (Previously this year, the SIU told the committee that vital files essential in some prosecutions were deleted from your NLC Pc system or experienced long gone missing from Metrofile, a warehouse where by copies of paperwork are archived and saved);
the fact that some implicated persons are still utilized by NLC; and
A obstacle to the legality on 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 allotted to supervise all NLC issues now less than investigation,” de Kock reported. “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 remark from among the list of five companies accused because of the SIU in Parliament of producing fraudulent yearly monetary statements,TTP Consulting.
Aubrey Moeng, amongst TTP’s two directors, claimed in an e-mail in reaction to questions: “On account of shopper confidentiality, we desire to suggest that TTP Consulting will not be prepared to disclose clients’ monetary confidential info with the public or media … without the consent from the client or perhaps a lawful rationale.”
The corporation is a “husband or wife” of various condition entities, such as SARS and the CIPC, In keeping with its Internet site.
Neither of The 2 directors of Dzata Accountants, that are each stated as inactive around the CIPC sign up of businesses, responded to emailed issues. The company has become deregistered via the CIPC for failing to post financial statements given that 2021.
The only director of Mageba Ntuli Buying and selling and Consulting Support, Patrick Zulu, died three a long time in the past, In accordance with official records. The corporation was deregistered via the CIPC for failing to post economic statements given that 2021.
Matamela Magodi, the sole director of Magodi Consultants, didn't respond to issues emailed to him.
GroundUp was unable to obtain any listing for Tafta Consulting and Accounting Expert services With all the CIPC. We were also not able to trace any of the corporation’s directors to ask for comment.