The accountants who helped loot the Lottery
The accountants who helped loot the Lottery
Blog Article
The Particular Investigating Unit has identified five accounting corporations that assisted loot Lottery cash. Graphic: Lisa Nelson
The Unique Investigating Unit has determined 5 accounting and auditing corporations that helped non-earnings companies loot Lottery funds meant for “fantastic causes”.
The accounting firms compiled fraudulent financial statements used by these companies to apply for Lottery funding, the SIU explained to Parliament.
Performing chief national investigations officer Zodwa Xesibe reported the SIU would choose action to possess these corporations blacklisted.
A four-year probe because of the หวย หุ้น ช่อง 9 Distinctive Investigating Device (SIU) has uncovered five accounting and auditing firms that served dodgy non-gain providers loot many hundreds of many rands intended for “excellent leads to” from the Lottery.
These companies were explained from the SIU as “Qualified enablers,” who “compiled fraudulent economic statements” which were employed by the companies to make an application for Lottery funding.
The 5 companies have been named in Parliament via the SIU’s performing chief national investigations officer Zodwa Xesibe. They may be TTP Consulting, Dzata Accountants, Magodi Consulting, Mageba Ntuli Consulting and Tafta Consulting and Accounting Expert services.
Fraudulent financials made by these 5 accounting companies assisted practically 40 businesses get their hands on lottery funding, according to the SIU presentation.
Based on a Software made up of knowledge with all lottery grants due to the fact 2002, these firms received over R314-million in funding.
“These NPCs ended up funded through the Countrywide Lotteries Commission (NLC) though the money weren't utilized for their supposed objective,” Xesibe instructed Parliament’s Trade, Industry and Competitiveness Portfolio Committee past week.
The SIU, the Hawks as well as the Nationwide Prosecuting Authority (NPA) ended up in Parliament to report back to the committee on development in bringing persons and organisations linked to looting the lottery to reserve.
Xesibe explained to GroundUp which the SIU meant to lodge grievances towards the accounting firms associated and was examining if these firms were being registered and, If that's so, with which Qualified bodies.
“We want these companies being blacklisted,” she advised GroundUp.
To qualify for Lottery funding, an organisation was needed to make two many years of yearly financial statements, Xesibe spelled out in Parliament.
Nevertheless, as an ongoing 6-calendar year investigation into lottery corruption by GroundUp has exposed, hijacked non-financial gain organisations (NPOs) or new shelf non-gain organizations (NPCs) without money observe data ended up utilized to make an application for funding.
In a few cases, Practically similar monetary statements were produced for unrelated organisations, normally with just the names from the organisations changed, GroundUp’s investigation uncovered.
Paperwork submitted by genuine NPCs for unsuccessful grant apps had been normally used by new or hijacked NPCs and NPOs to submit an application for funding. The details and paperwork of your unsuccessful applicants had been provided by senior Lottery officers into the dodgy applicants.
With cursory or - usually - no verification, these dodgy applicants have been awarded millions of rands in grants. At times added tranches of cash ended up paid out out devoid of A great deal examining to the development of assignments.
The vast majority of such grants were being designed through proactive funding, which was at the heart in the looting on the lottery. Proactive funding authorized the Minister of Trade, Business and Opposition, or even the NLC along side its board, to determine brings about to fund without having first requiring an application. This was stopped any time a new NLC board was appointed.
R2-billion in grants under investigation
SIU head Advocate Andy Mothibi stated the SIU was presently investigating grants valued at more than R2-billion, as well as the unit was even now routinely obtaining idea-offs about a lot more corruption.
He explained to MPs the SIU’s investigation were broken into a few phases: the 1st, which has been finalised, probed dodgy grants amounting to R280-million, and the 2nd, also done, concerned R247-million. During the third phase, due to be finalised at the end of the year, the SIU is investigating grants valued at Just about R906-million, involving 40 NPOs and NPCs, Mothibi claimed.
He claimed which the SIU would use “soon” with the Presidential Proclamation, initially granted in Oct 2020 to analyze corruption involving lottery grants, for being extended to include procurement via the NLC.
The SIU investigation had to this point brought about thirteen disciplinary referrals to your NLC, and administrative referrals to SARS and the Companies and Mental Houses Fee to blacklist individuals implicated while in the looting. Issues involving two men and women had been referred for the Legal Practice Council as well as the SA Institute of Chartered Accountants.
The SIU had noticed many developments under the prior NLC board and govt - lots of whom are implicated in looting - Mothibi instructed MPs.
This incorporated a “trend of collusion between NLC officials and NPOs and NPCs”, “the hijacking of NPOs and NPCs” and “general maladministration from the acceptance of grants,” he mentioned.
Sluggish development by the NPA
The SIU has frozen properties, Houses, cars and trucks together with other belongings truly worth tens of hundreds of thousands that were bought with lottery funds, but MPs expressed concern at slow development in prosecuting All those involved with the looting. (The SIU is mandated only to Get well assets acquired with stolen point out money and does not have prosecuting powers).
Though the SIU has referred fifteen matters into the NPA, thus far only two individuals have been introduced right before a courtroom. Two Males appeared in courtroom in Kimberley not too long ago in reference to misappropriated funds collected for just a undertaking to beat gender-primarily based violence.
In August 2022 Christopher Tshivule was sentenced to eight decades in jail for his component in the R1.five-million lottery grant fraud. Rates against two folks charged with him, who the SIU has referred to as “kingpins” while in the corruption that overcome the NLC, have been dropped.
Key-Standard Mmeli Makinyane, the acting divisional commissioner for priority offences, told MPs which the Hawks ended up at the moment investigating 16 lottery corruption-related conditions. A further 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 scenarios are being investigated with the SAPS detective and forensic solutions, he explained.
Conveying The explanations for the delay in prosecutions, NPA Deputy National Director Rodney de Kock mentioned Section of The key reason why was which the Hawks needed to do even further investigations every time they been given dossiers within the SIU.
“In essence, the investigations carried out through the SIU usually do not fulfill felony specifications for prosecutions.”
As a result, the NPA experienced to work with investigators during the DPCI (the Hawks) and SAPS to carry out criminal investigations and make sure the evidence fulfills criminal prosecution criteria, he stated, incorporating: “Having said that, the function with the SIU is essential and contributes considerably to this method.”
De Kock said that the SIU’s investigation “usually ends in many referrals. The referrals may perhaps ultimately result in one docket and 1 court docket circumstance.”
He claimed that 12 matters, which are “close to eighty five% full”, were remaining jointly investigated with the Hawks as well as the SIU’s Specialised Financial Operations Device. (The majority of these cases, seven of which were being lodged in 2020, include former NLC Main functioning officer Phillemon Letwaba, who resigned below a cloud in 2022, and Pretoria attorney Leslie Ramulifho.)
De Kock claimed the NPA confronted a number of “issues” in prosecuting cases. These, he stated, incorporated
the lapse of time among once the offences have been committed as well as the issuing in the Presidential Proclamation on 1 November 2020;
“unavailability of witnesses and/or documentary proof” (Previously this yr, the SIU told the committee that vital paperwork necessary in certain prosecutions had been deleted in the NLC computer process or had long gone missing from Metrofile, a warehouse wherever copies of documents are archived and stored);
The reality that some implicated people remain used by NLC; and
A obstacle for the legality with the Presidential Proclamation by previous NLC chairperson Alfred Nevhutanda.
“The NPA is committed to ensuring finalisation in these matters. To this stop, a staff of focused prosecutors has been allocated to supervise all NLC issues now under investigation,” de Kock stated. “Issues are taken care of for a precedence. When [the] investigations are accomplished, the NPA will make a call.”
What the businesses say (or don’t)
GroundUp was only capable of get remark from among the list of five companies accused via the SIU in Parliament of producing fraudulent once-a-year economic statements,TTP Consulting.
Aubrey Moeng, one of TTP’s two directors, reported 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 details with the public or media … without the consent from the client or perhaps a legal reason.”
The company is a “husband or wife” of quite a few condition entities, which includes SARS and also the CIPC, according to its Web-site.
Neither of the two administrators of Dzata Accountants, who are equally outlined as inactive to the CIPC register of firms, responded to emailed questions. The business has been deregistered through the CIPC for failing to submit money statements since 2021.
The sole director of Mageba Ntuli Trading and Consulting Services, Patrick Zulu, died three many years ago, Based on Formal documents. The corporation was deregistered because of the CIPC for failing to submit monetary statements given that 2021.
Matamela Magodi, the sole director of Magodi Consultants, didn't respond to thoughts emailed to him.
GroundUp was not able to find any listing for Tafta Consulting and Accounting Expert services With all the CIPC. We ended up also struggling to trace any of the organization’s directors to ask for comment.