The accountants who helped loot the Lottery
The accountants who helped loot the Lottery
Blog Article
The Unique Investigating Device has identified five accounting corporations that assisted loot Lottery cash. Graphic: Lisa Nelson
The Special Investigating Device has recognized five accounting and auditing firms that assisted non-financial gain providers loot Lottery money supposed for “superior will cause”.
The accounting companies compiled fraudulent economical statements utilized by these organizations to make an application for Lottery funding, the SIU informed Parliament.
Acting chief countrywide investigations officer Zodwa Xesibe explained the SIU would consider action to possess these companies blacklisted.
A 4-year probe through the สลาก กิน รัฐบาล Special Investigating Unit (SIU) has uncovered five accounting and auditing firms that served dodgy non-income organizations loot hundreds of a lot of rands designed for “excellent will cause” from your Lottery.
These corporations were being explained with the SIU as “Skilled enablers,” who “compiled fraudulent financial statements” which were used by the businesses to submit an application for Lottery funding.
The 5 businesses were being named in Parliament from the SIU’s acting chief countrywide investigations officer Zodwa Xesibe. They may be TTP Consulting, Dzata Accountants, Magodi Consulting, Mageba Ntuli Consulting and Tafta Consulting and Accounting Solutions.
Fraudulent financials produced by these 5 accounting companies assisted virtually forty providers get their fingers on lottery funding, according to the SIU presentation.
According to a Resource that contains information with all lottery grants considering the fact that 2002, these organizations bought in excess of R314-million in funding.
“These NPCs had been funded by the Nationwide Lotteries Commission (NLC) but the cash weren't made use of for their intended objective,” Xesibe explained to Parliament’s Trade, Industry and Opposition Portfolio Committee last week.
The SIU, the Hawks as well as the Countrywide Prosecuting Authority (NPA) were being in Parliament to report back to the committee on development in bringing men and women and organisations involved with looting the lottery to guide.
Xesibe explained to GroundUp that the SIU meant to lodge problems in opposition to the accounting corporations associated and was examining if these firms were being registered and, If that is so, with which Expert bodies.
“We wish these firms to generally be blacklisted,” she informed GroundUp.
To qualify for Lottery funding, an organisation was needed to produce two yrs of yearly economical statements, Xesibe explained in Parliament.
Having said that, being an ongoing six-12 months investigation into lottery corruption by GroundUp has revealed, hijacked non-revenue organisations (NPOs) or new shelf non-profit companies (NPCs) without having money monitor records were being used to submit an application for funding.
In some instances, Practically similar money statements were being made for unrelated organisations, often with just the names with the organisations altered, GroundUp’s investigation observed.
Documents submitted by real NPCs for unsuccessful grant purposes ended up normally utilized by new or hijacked NPCs and NPOs to apply for funding. The small print and paperwork in the unsuccessful applicants were being equipped by senior Lottery officers to your dodgy applicants.
With cursory or - frequently - no verification, these dodgy applicants had been awarded an incredible number of rands in grants. Often more tranches of cash ended up paid out out devoid of A lot checking on the development of jobs.
The vast majority of such grants have been built by way of proactive funding, which was at the center of your looting of the lottery. Proactive funding authorized the Minister of Trade, Business and Level of competition, or the NLC at the side of its board, to recognize will cause to fund without the need of first requiring an software. This was stopped each time a new NLC board was appointed.
R2-billion in grants below investigation
SIU head Advocate Andy Mothibi stated the SIU was presently investigating grants valued at around R2-billion, plus the unit was continue to on a regular basis receiving suggestion-offs about extra corruption.
He advised MPs that the SIU’s investigation were damaged into a few phases: the initial, which has been finalised, probed dodgy grants amounting to R280-million, and the next, also done, associated R247-million. While in the third stage, as a consequence of be finalised at the end of the 12 months, the SIU is investigating grants valued at Nearly R906-million, involving 40 NPOs and NPCs, Mothibi stated.
He mentioned that the SIU would use “soon” with the Presidential Proclamation, initially granted in Oct 2020 to investigate corruption involving lottery grants, to generally be extended to incorporate procurement because of the NLC.
The SIU investigation had to this point brought about thirteen disciplinary referrals for the NLC, and administrative referrals to SARS and the businesses and Intellectual Homes Fee to blacklist folks implicated during the looting. Grievances involving two people today were referred to the Legal Apply Council as well as SA Institute of Chartered Accountants.
The SIU had noticed a number of developments beneath the previous NLC board and govt - most of whom have already been implicated in looting - Mothibi advised MPs.
This provided a “pattern of collusion amongst NLC officials and NPOs and NPCs”, “the hijacking of NPOs and NPCs” and “common maladministration in the acceptance of grants,” he stated.
Gradual progress from the NPA
The SIU has frozen houses, Homes, vehicles together with other property truly worth tens of thousands and thousands which were bought with lottery cash, but MPs expressed concern at sluggish development in prosecuting Individuals involved with the looting. (The SIU is mandated only to Get better belongings bought with stolen state cash and doesn't have prosecuting powers).
Though the SIU has referred fifteen matters into the NPA, so far only two people have been introduced just before a courtroom. Two Gentlemen appeared in court in Kimberley not too long ago in connection with misappropriated money gathered for just a job to battle gender-based mostly violence.
In August 2022 Christopher Tshivule was sentenced to eight years in jail for his component in a R1.5-million lottery grant fraud. Costs from two folks billed with him, who the SIU has described as “kingpins” in the corruption that overwhelmed the NLC, ended up dropped.
Major-Standard Mmeli Makinyane, the performing divisional commissioner for precedence offences, informed MPs the Hawks ended up currently investigating sixteen lottery corruption-associated circumstances. A different a person - the Kimberley make any difference - is before a court docket and two are actually despatched to your NPA for a choice to prosecute. An additional five conditions are increasingly being investigated because of the SAPS detective and forensic expert services, he mentioned.
Describing The explanations for your hold off in prosecutions, NPA Deputy National Director Rodney de Kock claimed Portion of the reason was the Hawks needed to do additional investigations if they received dossiers from your SIU.
“In essence, the investigations undertaken through the SIU will not fulfill felony benchmarks for prosecutions.”
Thus, the NPA had to work with investigators in the DPCI (the Hawks) and SAPS to perform legal investigations and make certain that the proof meets prison prosecution expectations, he stated, introducing: “That said, the work with the SIU is vital and contributes greatly to this method.”
De Kock said the SIU’s investigation “generally results in numerous referrals. The referrals may possibly finally lead to one particular docket and just one court docket circumstance.”
He said that twelve issues, which are “close to eighty five% finish”, ended up being jointly investigated from the Hawks and also the SIU’s Specialised Financial Operations Unit. (Most of these instances, 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 lawyer Leslie Ramulifho.)
De Kock claimed the NPA faced various “challenges” in prosecuting circumstances. These, he claimed, integrated
the lapse of time involving when the offences had been dedicated plus the issuing of your Presidential Proclamation on one November 2020;
“unavailability of witnesses and/or documentary proof” (Before this 12 months, the SIU advised the committee that crucial paperwork wanted in certain prosecutions had been deleted in the NLC Personal computer method or experienced absent lacking from Metrofile, a warehouse the place copies of documents are archived and saved);
The truth that some implicated individuals remain employed by NLC; and
A obstacle on the legality of the Presidential Proclamation by former NLC chairperson Alfred Nevhutanda.
“The NPA is dedicated to ensuring finalisation in these matters. To this conclude, a workforce of devoted prosecutors has been allotted to supervise all NLC issues presently beneath investigation,” de Kock reported. “Issues are handled as being a priority. When [the] investigations are accomplished, the NPA can make a decision.”
What the businesses say (or don’t)
GroundUp was only in a position to get comment from among the five businesses accused by the SIU in Parliament of manufacturing fraudulent annual financial statements,TTP Consulting.
Aubrey Moeng, certainly one of TTP’s two administrators, claimed in an e mail in reaction to inquiries: “As a result of shopper confidentiality, we desire to recommend that TTP Consulting is not willing to divulge purchasers’ economical confidential facts with the general public or media … with no consent from the consumer or simply a lawful reason.”
The organization is actually a “spouse” of numerous state entities, such as SARS as well as the CIPC, In line with its Site.
Neither of The 2 directors of Dzata Accountants, who are both equally listed as inactive within the CIPC sign up of corporations, responded to emailed queries. The corporation has become deregistered by the CIPC for failing to post financial statements considering that 2021.
The only real director of Mageba Ntuli Investing and Consulting Service, Patrick Zulu, died three a long time in the past, In keeping with Formal records. The organization was deregistered with the CIPC for failing to submit economic statements due to the fact 2021.
Matamela Magodi, the only director of Magodi Consultants, did not respond to questions emailed to him.
GroundUp was struggling to come across any listing for Tafta Consulting and Accounting Expert services Along with the CIPC. We had been also struggling to trace any of the business’s administrators to ask for comment.