The accountants who assisted loot the Lottery
The accountants who assisted loot the Lottery
Blog Article
The Special Investigating Unit has identified 5 accounting corporations that aided loot Lottery funds. Graphic: Lisa Nelson
The Exclusive Investigating Device has recognized five accounting and auditing corporations that helped non-earnings providers loot Lottery revenue supposed for “superior causes”.
The accounting corporations compiled fraudulent economical statements utilized by these firms to make an application for Lottery funding, the SIU told Parliament.
Acting Main national investigations officer Zodwa Xesibe mentioned the SIU would take action to obtain these corporations blacklisted.
A 4-yr probe via the lottovip Specific Investigating Device (SIU) has uncovered five accounting and auditing companies that assisted dodgy non-earnings companies loot countless millions of rands meant for “fantastic leads to” from the Lottery.
These firms have been explained via the SIU as “professional enablers,” who “compiled fraudulent monetary statements” that were utilized by the businesses to submit an application for Lottery funding.
The five providers had been named in Parliament from 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 Providers.
Fraudulent financials made by these 5 accounting firms aided practically 40 providers get their fingers on lottery funding, in accordance with the SIU presentation.
Depending on a tool that contains information with all lottery grants since 2002, these companies acquired over R314-million in funding.
“These NPCs had been funded from the Countrywide Lotteries Fee (NLC) but the funds weren't applied for his or her meant goal,” Xesibe advised Parliament’s Trade, Sector and Level of competition Portfolio Committee previous 7 days.
The SIU, the Hawks as well as the Countrywide Prosecuting Authority (NPA) had been in Parliament to report to the committee on development in bringing people and organisations involved with looting the lottery to book.
Xesibe advised GroundUp which the SIU intended to lodge grievances from the accounting firms concerned and was checking if these companies ended up registered and, If that's the case, with which Qualified bodies.
“We wish these providers to be blacklisted,” she informed GroundUp.
To qualify for Lottery funding, an organisation was required to create two many years of once-a-year money statements, Xesibe spelled out in Parliament.
On the other hand, being an ongoing six-calendar year investigation into lottery corruption by GroundUp has discovered, hijacked non-income organisations (NPOs) or new shelf non-profit corporations (NPCs) without any monetary keep track of records have been used to make an application for funding.
In some situations, Pretty much equivalent economic statements were being produced for unrelated organisations, typically with just the names of the organisations modified, GroundUp’s investigation discovered.
Documents submitted by genuine NPCs for unsuccessful grant purposes ended up generally utilized by new or hijacked NPCs and NPOs to apply for funding. The main points and files on the unsuccessful applicants had been equipped by senior Lottery officials into the dodgy applicants.
With cursory or - normally - no verification, these dodgy applicants had been awarded many rands in grants. Often added tranches of funds have been paid out out without the need of A lot checking within the progress of tasks.
The overwhelming majority of those grants ended up built by using proactive funding, which was at the center in the looting in the lottery. Proactive funding allowed the Minister of Trade, Business and Competitiveness, or the NLC together with its board, to determine results in to fund devoid of initial necessitating an software. This was stopped whenever a new NLC board was appointed.
R2-billion in grants beneath investigation
SIU head Advocate Andy Mothibi said the SIU was at present investigating grants valued at around R2-billion, as well as the unit was however consistently getting suggestion-offs about a lot more corruption.
He informed MPs the SIU’s investigation were damaged into a few phases: the first, that has been finalised, probed dodgy grants amounting to R280-million, and the second, also finished, associated R247-million. During the 3rd phase, due to be finalised at the end of the 12 months, the SIU is investigating grants valued at Virtually R906-million, involving 40 NPOs and NPCs, Mothibi mentioned.
He mentioned the SIU would use “shortly” to the Presidential Proclamation, initially granted in Oct 2020 to research corruption involving lottery grants, for being extended to incorporate procurement because of the NLC.
The SIU investigation had to this point triggered thirteen disciplinary referrals towards the NLC, and administrative referrals to SARS and the businesses and Intellectual Houses Fee to blacklist men and women implicated within the looting. Grievances involving two people today had been referred for the Authorized Observe Council along with the SA Institute of Chartered Accountants.
The SIU experienced noticed a number of developments under the former NLC board and executive - many of whom are already implicated in looting - Mothibi instructed MPs.
This included a “development of collusion between NLC officers and NPOs and NPCs”, “the hijacking of NPOs and NPCs” and “basic maladministration within the acceptance of grants,” he said.
Gradual progress because of the NPA
The SIU has frozen properties, properties, autos and also other belongings value tens of millions which were bought with lottery money, but MPs expressed issue at gradual progress in prosecuting Individuals associated with the looting. (The SIU is mandated only to Get better property purchased with stolen condition money and does not have prosecuting powers).
Whilst the SIU has referred fifteen matters into the NPA, to date 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 money gathered for a challenge to battle gender-centered violence.
In August 2022 Christopher Tshivule was sentenced to eight years in prison for his part within a R1.five-million lottery grant fraud. Costs from two people billed with him, who the SIU has described as “kingpins” within the corruption that overwhelmed the NLC, have been dropped.
Significant-Typical Mmeli Makinyane, the acting divisional commissioner for priority offences, informed MPs the Hawks ended up at this time investigating sixteen lottery corruption-connected circumstances. Yet another one - the Kimberley make any difference - is right before a court docket and two are actually despatched to your NPA for a call to prosecute. A further 5 scenarios are now being investigated from the SAPS detective and forensic solutions, he reported.
Detailing The explanations for your delay in prosecutions, NPA Deputy Nationwide Director Rodney de Kock stated Component of The main reason was the Hawks needed to do more investigations every time they acquired dossiers in the SIU.
“In essence, the investigations undertaken through the SIU tend not to satisfy legal specifications for prosecutions.”
As a result, the NPA had to operate with investigators during the DPCI (the Hawks) and SAPS to carry out criminal investigations and make sure that the proof meets prison prosecution criteria, he explained, adding: “Having said that, the perform of your SIU is vital and contributes significantly to this process.”
De Kock claimed which the SIU’s investigation “usually ends in many referrals. The referrals may ultimately end in a single docket and one court situation.”
He claimed that twelve issues, which are “approximately eighty five% full”, had been getting jointly investigated from the Hawks and also the SIU’s Specialised Economic Functions Unit. (Many of these circumstances, 7 of which were being lodged in 2020, entail previous NLC chief running officer Phillemon Letwaba, who resigned below a cloud in 2022, and Pretoria attorney Leslie Ramulifho.)
De Kock said the NPA faced a number of “difficulties” in prosecuting conditions. These, he mentioned, bundled
the lapse of time among in the event the offences were being fully commited and the issuing from the Presidential Proclamation on one November 2020;
“unavailability of witnesses and/or documentary proof” (Before this calendar year, the SIU explained to the committee that important documents necessary in some prosecutions were deleted within the NLC Laptop or computer system or experienced absent missing from Metrofile, a warehouse where copies of files are archived and saved);
The reality that some implicated persons are still employed by NLC; and
A problem to the legality with the Presidential Proclamation by former NLC chairperson Alfred Nevhutanda.
“The NPA is dedicated to making certain finalisation in these matters. To this finish, a crew of focused prosecutors is allotted to supervise all NLC issues currently under investigation,” de Kock mentioned. “Matters are dealt with like a priority. After [the] investigations are concluded, the NPA is likely to make a choice.”
What the companies say (or don’t)
GroundUp was only capable to get comment from among the 5 corporations accused because of the SIU in Parliament of producing fraudulent once-a-year money statements,TTP Consulting.
Aubrey Moeng, one among TTP’s two directors, claimed in an e mail in reaction to inquiries: “On account of client confidentiality, we prefer to suggest that TTP Consulting isn't ready to disclose consumers’ economical confidential details with the general public or media … with no consent of your client or perhaps a legal motive.”
The organization can be a “lover” of various condition entities, like SARS along with the CIPC, As outlined by its Web-site.
Neither of The 2 administrators of Dzata Accountants, that are the two outlined as inactive on the CIPC sign up of firms, responded to emailed questions. The corporate is deregistered by the CIPC for failing to submit fiscal statements because 2021.
The only real director of Mageba Ntuli Trading and Consulting Provider, Patrick Zulu, died 3 decades back, Based on official information. The business was deregistered with the CIPC for failing to submit money statements considering the fact that 2021.
Matamela Magodi, the only real director of Magodi Consultants, did not respond to concerns emailed to him.
GroundUp was unable to obtain any listing for Tafta Consulting and Accounting Services with the CIPC. We were also not able to trace any of the organization’s administrators to request remark.