The accountants who aided loot the Lottery
The accountants who aided loot the Lottery
Blog Article
The Unique Investigating Unit has identified five accounting corporations that helped loot Lottery money. Graphic: Lisa Nelson
The Distinctive Investigating Unit has recognized five accounting and auditing companies that aided non-gain organizations loot Lottery dollars supposed for “good triggers”.
The accounting firms compiled fraudulent economic statements used by these organizations to apply for Lottery funding, the SIU informed Parliament.
Performing chief national investigations officer Zodwa Xesibe said the SIU would take motion to get these firms blacklisted.
A four-year probe via the หวย Specific Investigating Unit (SIU) has exposed 5 accounting and auditing companies that assisted dodgy non-earnings businesses loot a huge selection of countless rands designed for “very good triggers” from the Lottery.
These companies were described by the SIU as “Skilled enablers,” who “compiled fraudulent financial statements” which were used by the businesses to make an application for Lottery funding.
The five companies have been named in Parliament through the SIU’s performing chief nationwide investigations officer Zodwa Xesibe. They're TTP Consulting, Dzata Accountants, Magodi Consulting, Mageba Ntuli Consulting and Tafta Consulting and Accounting Expert services.
Fraudulent financials made by these 5 accounting corporations served almost 40 organizations get their fingers on lottery funding, based on the SIU presentation.
Determined by a Resource that contains knowledge with all lottery grants due to the fact 2002, these corporations acquired above R314-million in funding.
“These NPCs had been funded by the Countrywide Lotteries Commission (NLC) but the cash were not applied for their meant objective,” Xesibe instructed Parliament’s Trade, Market and Competitors Portfolio Committee very last 7 days.
The SIU, the Hawks as well as the Nationwide Prosecuting Authority (NPA) were being in Parliament to report to the committee on progress in bringing folks and organisations involved with looting the lottery to e book.
Xesibe told GroundUp that the SIU meant to lodge problems against the accounting firms involved and was examining if these companies have been registered and, In that case, with which Specialist bodies.
“We would like these businesses to be blacklisted,” she explained to GroundUp.
To qualify for Lottery funding, an organisation was necessary to create two decades of yearly financial statements, Xesibe spelled out in Parliament.
Nonetheless, being an ongoing six-12 months investigation into lottery corruption by GroundUp has exposed, hijacked non-financial gain organisations (NPOs) or new shelf non-revenue corporations (NPCs) without having monetary monitor data ended up utilized to submit an application for funding.
In certain instances, Nearly identical monetary statements had been created for unrelated organisations, usually with only the names of the organisations changed, GroundUp’s investigation uncovered.
Files submitted by real NPCs for unsuccessful grant purposes ended up typically used by new or hijacked NPCs and NPOs to submit an application for funding. The details and paperwork from the unsuccessful applicants ended up supplied by senior Lottery officials to your dodgy applicants.
With cursory or - usually - no verification, these dodgy applicants ended up awarded countless rands in grants. Often additional tranches of funds have been paid out out without the need of much checking around the progress of tasks.
The vast majority of these grants were being built via proactive funding, which was at the guts with the looting on the lottery. Proactive funding allowed the Minister of Trade, Field and Level of competition, or perhaps the NLC along with its board, to identify will cause to fund without having to start with requiring an application. This was stopped any time a new NLC board was appointed.
R2-billion in grants below investigation
SIU head Advocate Andy Mothibi claimed the SIU was presently investigating grants valued at in excess of R2-billion, and the device was nonetheless often obtaining suggestion-offs about additional corruption.
He instructed MPs which the SIU’s investigation were broken into three phases: the very first, that has been finalised, probed dodgy grants amounting to R280-million, and the 2nd, also concluded, included R247-million. Inside the third section, resulting from be finalised at the end of the calendar year, the SIU is investigating grants valued at Practically R906-million, involving 40 NPOs and NPCs, Mothibi claimed.
He mentioned which the SIU would use “before long” for your Presidential Proclamation, initially granted in Oct 2020 to investigate corruption involving lottery grants, to get prolonged to include procurement with the NLC.
The SIU investigation experienced so far resulted in 13 disciplinary referrals to your NLC, and administrative referrals to SARS and the businesses and Mental Attributes Fee to blacklist people implicated within the looting. Grievances involving two folks had been referred towards the Legal Practice Council and the SA Institute of Chartered Accountants.
The SIU experienced observed a number of trends underneath the preceding NLC board and executive - most of whom are already implicated in looting - Mothibi informed MPs.
This included a “craze of collusion in between NLC officers and NPOs and NPCs”, “the hijacking of NPOs and NPCs” and “general maladministration from the acceptance of grants,” he mentioned.
Sluggish development from the NPA
The SIU has frozen residences, Attributes, vehicles together with other belongings truly worth tens of hundreds of thousands that were bought with lottery funds, but MPs expressed concern at gradual development in prosecuting All those linked to the looting. (The SIU is mandated only to Get well property bought with stolen point out cash and does not have prosecuting powers).
Although the SIU has referred fifteen matters towards the NPA, so far only two folks have been brought right before a courtroom. Two Males appeared in court docket in Kimberley not too long ago in reference to misappropriated money gathered to get a job to fight gender-dependent violence.
In August 2022 Christopher Tshivule was sentenced to 8 many years in prison for his portion inside of a R1.5-million lottery grant fraud. Expenses from two people today billed with him, who the SIU has called “kingpins” in the corruption that overwhelmed the NLC, had been dropped.
Main-Common Mmeli Makinyane, the acting divisional commissioner for precedence offences, instructed MPs the Hawks have been at present investigating 16 lottery corruption-related conditions. A different just one - the Kimberley issue - is prior to a court docket and two have already been despatched for the NPA for a call to prosecute. A further five cases are now being investigated because of the SAPS detective and forensic providers, he claimed.
Explaining the reasons to the hold off in prosecutions, NPA Deputy Nationwide Director Rodney de Kock reported A part of The explanation was the Hawks had to do more investigations whenever they acquired dossiers through the SIU.
“In essence, the investigations undertaken from the SIU do not fulfill legal specifications for prosecutions.”
Consequently, the NPA experienced to work with investigators in the DPCI (the Hawks) and SAPS to carry out criminal investigations and make sure the proof satisfies prison prosecution requirements, he mentioned, adding: “That said, the function of your SIU is very important and contributes significantly to this method.”
De Kock mentioned which the SIU’s investigation “usually ends in numerous referrals. The referrals may ultimately end in a single docket and a single court docket case.”
He explained that 12 issues, which might be “roughly 85% entire”, were becoming jointly investigated from the Hawks plus the SIU’s Specialised Economic Functions Device. (These types of cases, 7 of which ended up lodged in 2020, require former NLC Main working officer Phillemon Letwaba, who resigned below a cloud in 2022, and Pretoria attorney Leslie Ramulifho.)
De Kock stated the NPA confronted several “troubles” in prosecuting instances. These, he explained, involved
the lapse of time among if the offences were committed along with the issuing of the Presidential Proclamation on 1 November 2020;
“unavailability of witnesses and/or documentary evidence” (Before this calendar year, the SIU told the committee that key documents desired in certain prosecutions had been deleted from your NLC Personal computer method or had absent lacking from Metrofile, a warehouse in which copies of files are archived and stored);
The reality that some implicated individuals are still utilized by NLC; and
A obstacle towards the legality on the Presidential Proclamation by previous NLC chairperson Alfred Nevhutanda.
“The NPA is dedicated to making sure finalisation in these matters. To this conclude, a workforce of dedicated prosecutors is allocated to oversee all NLC matters at present beneath investigation,” de Kock claimed. “Matters are taken care of for a priority. The moment [the] investigations are finished, the NPA could make a decision.”
What the businesses say (or don’t)
GroundUp was only capable of get remark from one of many 5 companies accused with the SIU in Parliament of manufacturing fraudulent once-a-year financial statements,TTP Consulting.
Aubrey Moeng, one among TTP’s two administrators, claimed within an electronic mail in reaction to thoughts: “Because of client confidentiality, we want to advise that TTP Consulting isn't willing to disclose purchasers’ fiscal confidential info with the general public or media … with no consent in the client or simply a authorized reason.”
The corporation can be a “companion” of quite a few state entities, together with SARS as well as the CIPC, according to its Site.
Neither of The 2 administrators of Dzata Accountants, who will be each shown as inactive over the CIPC sign up of businesses, responded to emailed queries. The corporate has long been deregistered via the CIPC for failing to post money statements considering the fact that 2021.
The only real director of Mageba Ntuli Buying and selling and Consulting Support, Patrick Zulu, died three years back, In line with official documents. The corporate was deregistered through the CIPC for failing to post fiscal statements given that 2021.
Matamela Magodi, the only real director of Magodi Consultants, did not respond to thoughts emailed to him.
GroundUp was not able to come across any listing for Tafta Consulting and Accounting Providers While using the CIPC. We had been also not able to trace any of the corporation’s administrators to request remark.