The accountants who aided loot the Lottery

The accountants who aided loot the Lottery

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The Particular Investigating Unit has identified five accounting companies that helped loot Lottery funds. Graphic: Lisa Nelson

The Exclusive Investigating Device has recognized 5 accounting and auditing firms that assisted non-gain firms loot Lottery revenue supposed for “good triggers”.
The accounting firms compiled fraudulent money statements employed by these organizations to submit an application for Lottery funding, the SIU advised Parliament.
Acting Main nationwide investigations officer Zodwa Xesibe mentioned the SIU would consider motion to acquire these firms blacklisted.
A four-year probe because of the สลาก กิน Unique Investigating Device (SIU) has uncovered 5 accounting and auditing companies that aided dodgy non-financial gain companies loot a huge selection of numerous rands meant for “very good leads to” through the Lottery.

These firms have been described through the SIU as “Specialist enablers,” who “compiled fraudulent fiscal statements” that were utilized by the businesses to make an application for Lottery funding.

The five organizations ended up named in Parliament by the SIU’s acting Main countrywide investigations officer Zodwa Xesibe. They can be TTP Consulting, Dzata Accountants, Magodi Consulting, Mageba Ntuli Consulting and Tafta Consulting and Accounting Products and services.

Fraudulent financials produced by these 5 accounting firms helped approximately 40 providers get their arms on lottery funding, according to the SIU presentation.

Dependant on a Device made up of facts with all lottery grants because 2002, these companies received about R314-million in funding.

“These NPCs were being funded via the Countrywide Lotteries Commission (NLC) although the resources were not utilised for their supposed intent,” Xesibe explained to Parliament’s Trade, Industry and Competitiveness Portfolio Committee past week.

The SIU, the Hawks and the Nationwide Prosecuting Authority (NPA) have been in Parliament to report back to the committee on development in bringing persons and organisations linked to looting the lottery to guide.

Xesibe informed GroundUp which the SIU meant to lodge grievances from the accounting firms involved and was examining if these firms were registered and, if so, with which Experienced bodies.

“We want these companies to become blacklisted,” she explained to GroundUp.

To qualify for Lottery funding, an organisation was required to develop two yrs of once-a-year monetary statements, Xesibe discussed in Parliament.

However, being an ongoing 6-year investigation into lottery corruption by GroundUp has discovered, hijacked non-gain organisations (NPOs) or new shelf non-profit organizations (NPCs) without any fiscal observe data had been utilized to make an application for funding.

In some scenarios, Virtually similar economic statements were being created for unrelated organisations, typically with only the names from the organisations transformed, GroundUp’s investigation observed.

Paperwork submitted by real NPCs for unsuccessful grant applications ended up frequently utilized by new or hijacked NPCs and NPOs to apply for funding. The small print and files on the unsuccessful applicants were supplied by senior Lottery officials to your dodgy applicants.

With cursory or - frequently - no verification, these dodgy applicants have been awarded millions of rands in grants. At times more tranches of funds have been paid out out devoid of much examining on the development of projects.

The overwhelming majority of such grants have been designed by using proactive funding, which was at the heart from the looting in the lottery. Proactive funding permitted the Minister of Trade, Business and Opposition, or the NLC at the side of its board, to detect will cause to fund with no very first demanding an software. This was stopped every time a new NLC board was appointed.

R2-billion in grants below investigation
SIU head Advocate Andy Mothibi reported the SIU was presently investigating grants valued at in excess of R2-billion, as well as device was nonetheless on a regular basis acquiring idea-offs about extra corruption.

He told MPs the SIU’s investigation had been broken into three phases: the primary, which has been finalised, probed dodgy grants amounting to R280-million, and the second, also accomplished, concerned R247-million. While in the third phase, because of be finalised at the conclusion of the 12 months, the SIU is investigating grants valued at Virtually R906-million, involving 40 NPOs and NPCs, Mothibi claimed.

He explained that the SIU would utilize “soon” for the Presidential Proclamation, at first granted in Oct 2020 to research corruption involving lottery grants, being prolonged to include procurement through the NLC.

The SIU investigation had so far triggered 13 disciplinary referrals to the NLC, and administrative referrals to SARS and the businesses and Mental Homes Commission to blacklist men and women implicated during the looting. Complaints involving two folks were referred into the Lawful Follow Council and also the SA Institute of Chartered Accountants.

The SIU had observed many traits underneath the previous NLC board and executive - many of whom are already implicated in looting - Mothibi advised MPs.

This provided a “pattern of collusion in between NLC officers and NPOs and NPCs”, “the hijacking of NPOs and NPCs” and “basic maladministration inside the acceptance of grants,” he mentioned.

Gradual development from the NPA
The SIU has frozen residences, Attributes, cars and various belongings really worth tens of hundreds of thousands that were bought with lottery funds, but MPs expressed concern at gradual development in prosecuting All those involved with the looting. (The SIU is mandated only to Get well property bought with stolen point out cash and does not have prosecuting powers).

While the SIU has referred fifteen matters towards the NPA, so far only two folks have been brought before a courtroom. Two Gentlemen appeared in court docket in Kimberley not long ago in connection with misappropriated cash gathered for your undertaking to combat gender-dependent violence.

In August 2022 Christopher Tshivule was sentenced to 8 a long time in jail for his component 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 confused the NLC, were dropped.

Main-Standard Mmeli Makinyane, the acting divisional commissioner for priority offences, advised MPs the Hawks have been at present investigating 16 lottery corruption-associated instances. An additional 1 - the Kimberley make a difference - is prior to a court docket and two are already sent into the NPA for a decision to prosecute. An extra five scenarios are being investigated because of the SAPS detective and forensic providers, he claimed.

Describing the reasons for that hold off in prosecutions, NPA Deputy National Director Rodney de Kock stated part of The key reason why was which the Hawks needed to do further more investigations every time they gained dossiers within the SIU.

“In essence, the investigations carried out via the SIU do not fulfill felony criteria for prosecutions.”

Thus, the NPA had to operate with investigators from the DPCI (the Hawks) and SAPS to carry out criminal investigations and be certain that the evidence satisfies legal prosecution standards, he reported, introducing: “That said, the perform from the SIU is very important and contributes greatly to this process.”

De Kock explained which the SIU’s investigation “typically ends in various referrals. The referrals might in the long run bring about a single docket and just one court docket scenario.”

He claimed that twelve issues, which might be “roughly 85% total”, had been getting jointly investigated through the Hawks along with the SIU’s Specialised Economic Functions Device. (A large number of situations, 7 of which have been lodged in 2020, involve previous NLC Main working officer Phillemon Letwaba, who resigned less than a cloud in 2022, and Pretoria attorney Leslie Ramulifho.)

De Kock said the NPA confronted numerous “challenges” in prosecuting scenarios. These, he mentioned, bundled

the lapse of time among if the offences were being fully commited and also the issuing on the Presidential Proclamation on one November 2020;
“unavailability of witnesses and/or documentary proof” (Previously this yr, the SIU told the committee that key documents required in a few prosecutions had been deleted through the NLC computer method or experienced long gone lacking from Metrofile, a warehouse where by copies of files are archived and saved);
The truth that some implicated men and women are still used by NLC; and
A challenge to the legality on the Presidential Proclamation by former NLC chairperson Alfred Nevhutanda.
“The NPA is devoted to ensuring finalisation in these matters. To this end, a staff of devoted prosecutors has been allocated to oversee all NLC issues at present underneath investigation,” de Kock said. “Matters are handled being a priority. After [the] investigations are concluded, the NPA is likely to make a choice.”

What the companies say (or don’t)
GroundUp was only in the position to get comment from on the list of five organizations accused through the SIU in Parliament of producing fraudulent once-a-year fiscal statements,TTP Consulting.

Aubrey Moeng, one among TTP’s two directors, stated within an e-mail in response to concerns: “As a result of customer confidentiality, we want to suggest that TTP Consulting is just not willing to divulge shoppers’ economic private information with the public or media … with no consent of your consumer or maybe a authorized motive.”

The company is actually a “lover” of various condition entities, like SARS plus the CIPC, In keeping with its Web page.

Neither of the two directors of Dzata Accountants, that are each listed as inactive to the CIPC register of providers, responded to emailed queries. The company has actually been deregistered with the CIPC for failing to post economic statements since 2021.

The only director of Mageba Ntuli Investing and Consulting Support, Patrick Zulu, died 3 many years in the past, In keeping with official information. The corporate was deregistered by the CIPC for failing to post financial statements given that 2021.

Matamela Magodi, the sole director of Magodi Consultants, didn't reply to thoughts emailed to him.

GroundUp was not able to come across any listing for Tafta Consulting and Accounting Products and services While using the CIPC. We ended up also unable to trace any of the corporation’s directors to request comment.