The Special Investigating Unit has determined five accounting corporations that aided loot Lottery resources. Graphic: Lisa Nelson
The Exclusive Investigating Unit has recognized 5 accounting and auditing firms that aided non-revenue providers loot Lottery funds meant for “fantastic leads to”.
The accounting firms compiled fraudulent fiscal statements utilized by these providers to submit an application for Lottery funding, the SIU explained to Parliament.
Performing chief national investigations officer Zodwa Xesibe mentioned the SIU would get action to have these corporations blacklisted.
A four-year probe by the fox888 Exclusive Investigating Device (SIU) has exposed five accounting and auditing corporations that served dodgy non-financial gain providers loot many hundreds of many rands designed for “very good triggers” in the Lottery.
These corporations have been explained with the SIU as “Expert enablers,” who “compiled fraudulent economical statements” that were utilized by the businesses to apply for Lottery funding.
The five corporations had been named in Parliament because of the SIU’s performing Main national 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 made by these 5 accounting corporations helped almost 40 companies get their hands on lottery funding, in accordance with the SIU presentation.
Based on a Software made up of facts with all lottery grants considering the fact that 2002, these corporations acquired above R314-million in funding.
“These NPCs were funded because of the National Lotteries Fee (NLC) although the resources were not used for his or her supposed purpose,” Xesibe advised Parliament’s Trade, Field and Competition Portfolio Committee last week.
The SIU, the Hawks as well as Nationwide Prosecuting Authority (NPA) were in Parliament to report back to the committee on development in bringing folks and organisations involved with looting the lottery to ebook.
Xesibe informed GroundUp that the SIU intended to lodge issues towards the accounting companies involved and was checking if these firms have been registered and, If that's the case, with which Qualified bodies.
“We would like these corporations to generally be blacklisted,” she instructed GroundUp.
To qualify for Lottery funding, an organisation was necessary to make two yrs of yearly financial statements, Xesibe explained in Parliament.
However, as an ongoing 6-calendar year investigation into lottery corruption by GroundUp has disclosed, hijacked non-income organisations (NPOs) or new shelf non-revenue organizations (NPCs) with no economical monitor data were accustomed to submit an application for funding.
In certain circumstances, Pretty much identical economic statements were being produced for unrelated organisations, typically with just the names from the organisations modified, GroundUp’s investigation identified.
Paperwork submitted by real NPCs for unsuccessful grant applications were frequently employed by new or hijacked NPCs and NPOs to make an application for funding. The details and paperwork of the unsuccessful applicants have been equipped by senior Lottery officials on the dodgy applicants.
With cursory or - often - no verification, these dodgy applicants have been awarded millions of rands in grants. Often supplemental tranches of resources had been paid out out with no A great deal examining over the development of jobs.
The overwhelming majority of those grants have been manufactured by way of proactive funding, which was at the heart with the looting on the lottery. Proactive funding permitted the Minister of Trade, Market and Levels of competition, or perhaps the NLC along with its board, to recognize causes to fund with no initial necessitating an software. This was stopped when a new NLC board was appointed.
R2-billion in grants beneath 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 still routinely getting suggestion-offs about much more corruption.
He advised MPs that the SIU’s investigation were damaged into 3 phases: the 1st, which has been finalised, probed dodgy grants amounting to R280-million, and the second, also completed, associated R247-million. From the third phase, due to be finalised at the conclusion of the yr, the SIU is investigating grants valued at Virtually R906-million, involving 40 NPOs and NPCs, Mothibi reported.
He reported the SIU would use “before long” for that Presidential Proclamation, initially granted in Oct 2020 to investigate corruption involving lottery grants, to become prolonged to include procurement with the NLC.
The SIU investigation experienced up to now brought about thirteen disciplinary referrals for the NLC, and administrative referrals to SARS and the businesses and Mental Attributes Commission to blacklist folks implicated during the looting. Problems involving two individuals had been referred on the Authorized Exercise Council and the SA Institute of Chartered Accountants.
The SIU had observed many traits underneath the preceding NLC board and executive - many of whom happen to be implicated in looting - Mothibi told MPs.
This bundled a “pattern of collusion concerning NLC officials and NPOs and NPCs”, “the hijacking of NPOs and NPCs” and “typical maladministration inside the acceptance of grants,” he stated.
Sluggish development from the NPA
The SIU has frozen residences, properties, automobiles as well as other assets value tens of tens of millions which were purchased with lottery cash, but MPs expressed worry at sluggish progress in prosecuting Individuals associated with the looting. (The SIU is mandated only to Recuperate assets acquired with stolen condition money and doesn't have prosecuting powers).
When the SIU has referred 15 issues to your NPA, to date only two people have been introduced just before a court docket. Two Gentlemen appeared in court in Kimberley recently in reference to misappropriated funds gathered for a task to beat gender-primarily based violence.
In August 2022 Christopher Tshivule was sentenced to eight yrs in jail for his component in the R1.five-million lottery grant fraud. Charges in opposition to two persons billed with him, who the SIU has called “kingpins” during the corruption that confused the NLC, were being dropped.
Important-Typical Mmeli Makinyane, the performing divisional commissioner for priority offences, advised MPs the Hawks had been at present investigating sixteen lottery corruption-related cases. Another just one - the Kimberley issue - is just before a court docket and two are sent to your NPA for a decision to prosecute. An additional 5 instances are now being investigated from the SAPS detective and forensic expert services, he said.
Detailing The explanations for that hold off in prosecutions, NPA Deputy Countrywide Director Rodney de Kock said A part of The rationale was the Hawks had to do more investigations if they gained dossiers with the SIU.
“In essence, the investigations undertaken through the SIU don't fulfill legal specifications for prosecutions.”
Therefore, the NPA experienced to work with investigators from the DPCI (the Hawks) and SAPS to carry out prison investigations and be sure that the evidence satisfies criminal prosecution standards, he explained, including: “Having said that, the work in the SIU is crucial and contributes tremendously to this method.”
De Kock reported that the SIU’s investigation “frequently ends in many referrals. The referrals may ultimately result in 1 docket and 1 court circumstance.”
He claimed that 12 issues, which happen to be “close to eighty five% full”, were remaining jointly investigated because of the Hawks along with the SIU’s Specialised Economic Operations Device. (The majority of these cases, seven of which ended up lodged in 2020, involve former NLC Main functioning officer Phillemon Letwaba, who resigned under a cloud in 2022, and Pretoria attorney Leslie Ramulifho.)
De Kock claimed the NPA confronted a number of “issues” in prosecuting conditions. These, he said, integrated
the lapse of time in between once the offences had been committed as well as the issuing on the Presidential Proclamation on 1 November 2020;
“unavailability of witnesses and/or documentary proof” (Previously this calendar year, the SIU advised the committee that vital files wanted in a few prosecutions had been deleted from your NLC Laptop or computer process or had long gone missing from Metrofile, a warehouse exactly where copies of files are archived and stored);
The point that some implicated persons are still utilized by NLC; and
A obstacle for the legality of the Presidential Proclamation by former NLC chairperson Alfred Nevhutanda.
“The NPA is devoted to ensuring finalisation in these matters. To this close, a group of focused prosecutors has become allotted to oversee all NLC matters currently beneath investigation,” de Kock reported. “Issues are dealt with being a precedence. Once [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 among the list of five companies accused by the SIU in Parliament of manufacturing fraudulent annual financial statements,TTP Consulting.
Aubrey Moeng, amongst TTP’s two directors, reported in an e mail in reaction to inquiries: “Because of customer confidentiality, we wish to advise that TTP Consulting will not be prepared to disclose customers’ fiscal private information with the public or media … without the consent in the customer or simply a lawful reason.”
The organization is actually a “spouse” of numerous state entities, including SARS as well as CIPC, according to its Web site.
Neither of The 2 directors of Dzata Accountants, who will be both equally detailed as inactive on the CIPC sign-up of businesses, responded to emailed issues. The organization has long been deregistered with the CIPC for failing to post monetary statements considering the fact that 2021.
The sole director of Mageba Ntuli Buying and selling and Consulting Company, Patrick Zulu, died a few years ago, In accordance with official records. The organization was deregistered with the CIPC for failing to submit economic statements considering that 2021.
Matamela Magodi, the only director of Magodi Consultants, did not reply to issues emailed to him.
GroundUp was not able to uncover any listing for Tafta Consulting and Accounting Products and services While using the CIPC. We were being also not able to trace any of the organization’s administrators to ask for remark.