The Exclusive Investigating Unit has discovered 5 accounting corporations that served loot Lottery funds. Graphic: Lisa Nelson
The Particular Investigating Unit has recognized 5 accounting and auditing corporations that assisted non-financial gain providers loot Lottery dollars meant for “superior results in”.
The accounting companies compiled fraudulent economical statements employed by these businesses to apply for Lottery funding, the SIU instructed Parliament.
Performing chief countrywide investigations officer Zodwa Xesibe mentioned the SIU would just take motion to get these companies blacklisted.
A 4-calendar year probe with the fox888 Specific Investigating Unit (SIU) has uncovered five accounting and auditing firms that aided dodgy non-income firms loot many many rands intended for “great leads to” within the Lottery.
These firms have been explained with the SIU as “Specialist enablers,” who “compiled fraudulent money statements” which were employed by the companies to submit an application for Lottery funding.
The five businesses have been named in Parliament via the SIU’s performing Main national investigations officer Zodwa Xesibe. They are TTP Consulting, Dzata Accountants, Magodi Consulting, Mageba Ntuli Consulting and Tafta Consulting and Accounting Solutions.
Fraudulent financials made by these five accounting companies assisted practically 40 corporations get their fingers on lottery funding, according to the SIU presentation.
Depending on a Software that contains information with all lottery grants because 2002, these providers received about R314-million in funding.
“These NPCs were being funded with the Nationwide Lotteries Commission (NLC) though the cash were not made use of for his or her meant intent,” Xesibe told Parliament’s Trade, Sector and Competitors Portfolio Committee previous week.
The SIU, the Hawks along with the Nationwide Prosecuting Authority (NPA) ended up in Parliament to report back to the committee on progress in bringing folks and organisations involved in looting the lottery to e-book.
Xesibe explained to GroundUp that the SIU meant to lodge issues in opposition to the accounting corporations associated and was examining if these corporations have been registered and, If that's the case, with which Expert bodies.
“We wish these businesses to generally be blacklisted,” she informed GroundUp.
To qualify for Lottery funding, an organisation was needed to deliver two a long time of yearly money statements, Xesibe explained in Parliament.
Even so, as an ongoing six-year investigation into lottery corruption by GroundUp has exposed, hijacked non-profit organisations (NPOs) or new shelf non-revenue organizations (NPCs) with no monetary monitor records were used to apply for funding.
In certain instances, almost similar economical statements ended up made for unrelated organisations, often with only the names of the organisations adjusted, GroundUp’s investigation identified.
Files submitted by real NPCs for unsuccessful grant purposes had been generally utilized by new or hijacked NPCs and NPOs to submit an application for funding. The main points and paperwork of your unsuccessful applicants were equipped by senior Lottery officials to your dodgy applicants.
With cursory or - typically - no verification, these dodgy applicants have been awarded numerous rands in grants. Sometimes supplemental tranches of cash were being paid out without the need of A great deal checking on the progress of initiatives.
The vast majority of those grants were created by means of proactive funding, which was at the guts of the looting on the lottery. Proactive funding authorized the Minister of Trade, Business and Competition, or even the NLC along side its board, to identify leads to to fund without first necessitating an software. This was stopped every time a new NLC board was appointed.
R2-billion in grants beneath investigation
SIU head Advocate Andy Mothibi stated the SIU was currently investigating grants valued at around R2-billion, plus the device was nevertheless frequently obtaining tip-offs about extra corruption.
He informed MPs the SIU’s investigation had been broken into three phases: the main, which has been finalised, probed dodgy grants amounting to R280-million, and the 2nd, also finished, concerned R247-million. From the third stage, on account of be finalised at the end of the calendar year, the SIU is investigating grants valued at Just about R906-million, involving 40 NPOs and NPCs, Mothibi reported.
He claimed that the SIU would implement “before long” to the Presidential Proclamation, at first granted in October 2020 to research corruption involving lottery grants, to be extended to incorporate procurement via the NLC.
The SIU investigation had up to now brought about thirteen disciplinary referrals into the NLC, and administrative referrals to SARS and the businesses and Mental Qualities Commission to blacklist persons implicated inside the looting. Issues involving two individuals had been referred towards the Legal Follow Council and the SA Institute of Chartered Accountants.
The SIU had observed several traits underneath the former NLC board and government - a lot of whom are already implicated in looting - Mothibi explained to MPs.
This incorporated a “trend of collusion in between NLC officials and NPOs and NPCs”, “the hijacking of NPOs and NPCs” and “common maladministration inside the approval of grants,” he explained.
Sluggish development because of the NPA
The SIU has frozen properties, Attributes, cars and various assets well worth tens of tens of millions that were purchased with lottery resources, but MPs expressed issue at gradual development in prosecuting those involved in the looting. (The SIU is mandated only to recover assets purchased with stolen condition cash and doesn't have prosecuting powers).
Though the SIU has referred fifteen issues to your NPA, so far only two people have been introduced right before a courtroom. Two Gentlemen appeared in courtroom in Kimberley a short while ago in reference to misappropriated money gathered for just a task to overcome gender-based violence.
In August 2022 Christopher Tshivule was sentenced to 8 several years in prison for his part inside of a R1.5-million lottery grant fraud. Charges from two individuals charged with him, who the SIU has referred to as “kingpins” within the corruption that overcome the NLC, were being dropped.
Key-Common Mmeli Makinyane, the acting divisional commissioner for priority offences, advised MPs the Hawks have been now investigating sixteen lottery corruption-linked cases. Another 1 - the Kimberley issue - is just before a court docket and two are sent into the NPA for a choice to prosecute. A further 5 circumstances are increasingly being investigated through the SAPS detective and forensic solutions, he reported.
Outlining the reasons with the delay in prosecutions, NPA Deputy Nationwide Director Rodney de Kock stated Element of The main reason was the Hawks had to do further more investigations whenever they been given dossiers in the SIU.
“In essence, the investigations carried out with the SIU tend not to satisfy criminal standards for prosecutions.”
Therefore, the NPA experienced to work with investigators inside the DPCI (the Hawks) and SAPS to conduct prison investigations and make sure the evidence satisfies felony prosecution expectations, he mentioned, adding: “That said, the do the job with the SIU is vital and contributes significantly to this method.”
De Kock reported the SIU’s investigation “usually results in several referrals. The referrals may eventually result in one particular docket and just one court docket scenario.”
He mentioned that 12 issues, that are “roughly eighty five% entire”, were being getting jointly investigated via the Hawks and the SIU’s Specialised Economic Functions Unit. (The majority of these instances, 7 of which were lodged in 2020, require previous NLC chief functioning officer Phillemon Letwaba, who resigned underneath a cloud in 2022, and Pretoria attorney Leslie Ramulifho.)
De Kock stated the NPA confronted numerous “worries” in prosecuting circumstances. These, he claimed, integrated
the lapse of time involving in the event the offences were being committed as well as issuing of your Presidential Proclamation on 1 November 2020;
“unavailability of witnesses and/or documentary evidence” (Earlier this yr, the SIU advised the committee that crucial documents essential in a few prosecutions had been deleted with the NLC Laptop or computer method or had gone lacking from Metrofile, a warehouse where by copies of paperwork are archived and stored);
the fact that some implicated people are still used by NLC; and
A challenge to the legality of your Presidential Proclamation by previous NLC chairperson Alfred Nevhutanda.
“The NPA is committed to guaranteeing finalisation in these issues. To this stop, a staff of dedicated prosecutors has long been allocated to oversee all NLC matters at this time below investigation,” de Kock reported. “Matters are managed as a priority. After [the] investigations are completed, the NPA can make a decision.”
What the businesses say (or don’t)
GroundUp was only capable of get comment from on the list of 5 firms accused through the SIU in Parliament of producing fraudulent once-a-year financial statements,TTP Consulting.
Aubrey Moeng, amongst TTP’s two administrators, mentioned within an email in response to thoughts: “On account of client confidentiality, we wish to suggest that TTP Consulting is not ready to disclose shoppers’ monetary confidential data with the general public or media … with no consent in the customer or a legal explanation.”
The corporate is usually a “partner” of several state entities, such as SARS along with the CIPC, As outlined by its Web-site.
Neither of the two directors of Dzata Accountants, who are both mentioned as inactive about the CIPC register of corporations, responded to emailed inquiries. The company has been deregistered with the CIPC for failing to post monetary statements considering the fact that 2021.
The sole director of Mageba Ntuli Trading and Consulting Provider, Patrick Zulu, died 3 many years ago, As outlined by Formal information. The corporate was deregistered via the CIPC for failing to post economical statements since 2021.
Matamela Magodi, the sole director of Magodi Consultants, didn't respond to concerns emailed to him.
GroundUp was unable to find any listing for Tafta Consulting and Accounting Services Using the CIPC. We were being also not able to trace any of the organization’s administrators to ask for comment.