The accountants who served loot the Lottery
The accountants who served loot the Lottery
Blog Article
The Distinctive Investigating Device has discovered 5 accounting firms that aided loot Lottery funds. Graphic: Lisa Nelson
The Exclusive Investigating Unit has discovered 5 accounting and auditing companies that assisted non-income corporations loot Lottery funds meant for “excellent causes”.
The accounting firms compiled fraudulent financial statements employed by these companies to submit an application for Lottery funding, the SIU instructed Parliament.
Acting Main countrywide investigations officer Zodwa Xesibe explained the SIU would take action to own these corporations blacklisted.
A four-calendar year probe with the ltpbet Distinctive Investigating Unit (SIU) has exposed 5 accounting and auditing firms that assisted dodgy non-profit organizations loot hundreds of a lot of rands meant for “good will cause” within the Lottery.
These corporations ended up described because of the SIU as “professional enablers,” who “compiled fraudulent economic statements” that were used by the businesses to submit an application for Lottery funding.
The five providers were being named in Parliament because of the SIU’s acting Main nationwide 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 aided almost 40 firms get their hands on lottery funding, in accordance with the SIU presentation.
Determined by a Resource that contains details with all lottery grants considering that 2002, these corporations bought about R314-million in funding.
“These NPCs were being funded via the Countrywide Lotteries Commission (NLC) even so the funds weren't utilised for their meant purpose,” Xesibe advised Parliament’s Trade, Business and Competition Portfolio Committee very last week.
The SIU, the Hawks along with the Countrywide Prosecuting Authority (NPA) were in Parliament to report back to the committee on development in bringing people and organisations linked to looting the lottery to e-book.
Xesibe instructed GroundUp which the SIU meant to lodge complaints in opposition to the accounting companies involved and was checking if these firms were registered and, If that's the case, with which Expert bodies.
“We want these providers to generally be blacklisted,” she explained to GroundUp.
To qualify for Lottery funding, an organisation was necessary to produce two decades of annual economical statements, Xesibe discussed in Parliament.
Nevertheless, as an ongoing 6-calendar year investigation into lottery corruption by GroundUp has uncovered, hijacked non-financial gain organisations (NPOs) or new shelf non-profit firms (NPCs) without economical track records ended up utilized to apply for funding.
In some circumstances, Pretty much equivalent money statements were being manufactured for unrelated organisations, frequently with only the names of your organisations altered, GroundUp’s investigation identified.
Documents submitted by legitimate NPCs for unsuccessful grant apps ended up typically used by new or hijacked NPCs and NPOs to apply for funding. The small print and files on the unsuccessful applicants were provided by senior Lottery officials into the dodgy applicants.
With cursory or - generally - no verification, these dodgy applicants were awarded many rands in grants. Often supplemental tranches of money ended up paid out without the need of A great deal checking within the development of jobs.
The vast majority of these grants have been designed via proactive funding, which was at the heart from the looting in the lottery. Proactive funding authorized the Minister of Trade, Field and Competitors, or even the NLC at the side of its board, to recognize brings about to fund with no 1st requiring an software. This was stopped every time a new NLC board was appointed.
R2-billion in grants underneath investigation
SIU head Advocate Andy Mothibi explained the SIU was currently investigating grants valued at over R2-billion, and also the device was even now consistently getting idea-offs about more corruption.
He advised MPs which the SIU’s investigation were damaged into a few phases: the initial, which has been finalised, probed dodgy grants amounting to R280-million, and the next, also concluded, included R247-million. During the 3rd stage, resulting from be finalised at the conclusion of the calendar year, the SIU is investigating grants valued at Just about R906-million, involving 40 NPOs and NPCs, Mothibi stated.
He said which the SIU would use “shortly” for your Presidential Proclamation, at first granted in Oct 2020 to investigate corruption involving lottery grants, to generally be extended to incorporate 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 Properties Commission to blacklist persons implicated in the looting. Complaints involving two folks had been referred into the Lawful Observe Council as well as the SA Institute of Chartered Accountants.
The SIU experienced noticed quite a few traits underneath the former NLC board and executive - many of whom happen to be implicated in looting - Mothibi informed MPs.
This integrated a “development of collusion involving NLC officials and NPOs and NPCs”, “the hijacking of NPOs and NPCs” and “general maladministration during the approval of grants,” he claimed.
Slow progress because of the NPA
The SIU has frozen homes, Attributes, automobiles as well as other assets worthy of tens of thousands and thousands which were bought with lottery money, but MPs expressed problem at sluggish development in prosecuting All those linked to the looting. (The SIU is mandated only to Get better belongings purchased with stolen condition money and does not have prosecuting powers).
While the SIU has referred 15 matters to your NPA, so far only two people have been brought in advance of a court docket. Two Males appeared in courtroom in Kimberley recently in connection with misappropriated cash gathered for a undertaking to battle gender-centered violence.
In August 2022 Christopher Tshivule was sentenced to 8 decades in jail for his aspect inside of a R1.five-million lottery grant fraud. Prices versus two people today billed with him, who the SIU has described as “kingpins” within the corruption that confused the NLC, have been dropped.
Main-General Mmeli Makinyane, the performing divisional commissioner for precedence offences, advised MPs which the Hawks had been currently investigating 16 lottery corruption-similar circumstances. A further 1 - the Kimberley subject - is before a courtroom and two have been sent for the NPA for a choice to prosecute. An extra five instances are being investigated through the SAPS detective and forensic expert services, he reported.
Explaining The explanations with the hold off in prosecutions, NPA Deputy Nationwide Director Rodney de Kock mentioned Section of The rationale was that the Hawks needed to do further more investigations every time they gained dossiers through the SIU.
“In essence, the investigations undertaken with the SIU don't fulfill prison expectations for prosecutions.”
Consequently, the NPA had to operate with investigators within the DPCI (the Hawks) and SAPS to carry out felony investigations and ensure that the evidence fulfills prison prosecution standards, he stated, including: “That said, the perform on the SIU is crucial and contributes greatly to this method.”
De Kock claimed the SIU’s investigation “usually leads to multiple referrals. The referrals may perhaps in the long run cause 1 docket and a person courtroom circumstance.”
He mentioned that twelve matters, which happen to be “around eighty five% total”, ended up being jointly investigated with the Hawks as well as SIU’s Specialised Economic Operations Unit. (These types of conditions, 7 of which were being lodged in 2020, involve former NLC Main functioning officer Phillemon Letwaba, who resigned less than a cloud in 2022, and Pretoria law firm Leslie Ramulifho.)
De Kock reported the NPA confronted various “troubles” in prosecuting scenarios. These, he explained, incorporated
the lapse of time concerning if the offences had been fully commited along with the issuing in the Presidential Proclamation on one November 2020;
“unavailability of witnesses and/or documentary evidence” (Previously this year, the SIU advised the committee that key paperwork needed in a few prosecutions were deleted from the NLC Laptop system or had gone missing from Metrofile, a warehouse the place copies of files are archived and saved);
The point that some implicated individuals are still employed by NLC; and
A obstacle to the legality of the Presidential Proclamation by previous NLC chairperson Alfred Nevhutanda.
“The NPA is dedicated to making sure finalisation in these issues. To this conclude, a crew of devoted prosecutors is allocated to supervise all NLC matters currently less than investigation,” de Kock claimed. “Issues are handled to be a priority. At the time [the] investigations are concluded, the NPA will make a choice.”
What the businesses say (or don’t)
GroundUp was only capable to get remark from one of many 5 companies accused because of the SIU in Parliament of manufacturing fraudulent annual economic statements,TTP Consulting.
Aubrey Moeng, amongst TTP’s two administrators, said in an e-mail in response to queries: “Resulting from customer confidentiality, we need to recommend that TTP Consulting will not be ready to divulge customers’ monetary private facts with the general public or media … without the consent of your shopper or possibly a legal rationale.”
The corporate is actually a “partner” of various state entities, together with SARS as well as the CIPC, according to its Internet site.
Neither of The 2 administrators of Dzata Accountants, who are the two mentioned as inactive around the CIPC register of firms, responded to emailed issues. The company continues to be deregistered through the CIPC for failing to submit monetary statements considering that 2021.
The sole director of Mageba Ntuli Trading and Consulting Service, Patrick Zulu, died a few yrs in the past, In accordance with Formal data. The organization was deregistered by the CIPC for failing to post monetary statements since 2021.
Matamela Magodi, the only director of Magodi Consultants, didn't respond to issues emailed to him.
GroundUp was unable to come across any listing for Tafta Consulting and Accounting Solutions While using the CIPC. We had been also not able to trace any of the corporate’s administrators to request remark.