The accountants who served loot the Lottery
The accountants who served loot the Lottery
Blog Article
The Distinctive Investigating Unit has identified 5 accounting firms that aided loot Lottery resources. Graphic: Lisa Nelson
The Particular Investigating Device has discovered 5 accounting and auditing firms that helped non-financial gain businesses loot Lottery income meant for “superior leads to”.
The accounting firms compiled fraudulent economic statements used by these organizations to apply for Lottery funding, the SIU informed Parliament.
Performing Main national investigations officer Zodwa Xesibe said the SIU would take motion to get these firms blacklisted.
A 4-year probe via the ตา ว จ หวย Specific Investigating Unit (SIU) has exposed 5 accounting and auditing corporations that aided dodgy non-income firms loot countless numerous rands designed for “fantastic brings about” in the Lottery.
These corporations had been explained through the SIU as “Experienced enablers,” who “compiled fraudulent economic statements” which were employed by the companies to make an application for Lottery funding.
The 5 companies had been named in Parliament because of the SIU’s performing Main countrywide investigations officer Zodwa Xesibe. They are TTP Consulting, Dzata Accountants, Magodi Consulting, Mageba Ntuli Consulting and Tafta Consulting and Accounting Companies.
Fraudulent financials produced by these five accounting firms helped nearly forty organizations get their palms on lottery funding, in accordance with the SIU presentation.
According to a Device containing knowledge with all lottery grants due to the fact 2002, these businesses bought around R314-million in funding.
“These NPCs ended up funded with the Countrywide Lotteries Commission (NLC) however the money were not applied for their meant objective,” Xesibe told Parliament’s Trade, Field and Competitors Portfolio Committee very last week.
The SIU, the Hawks plus the Countrywide Prosecuting Authority (NPA) had been in Parliament to report to the committee on progress in bringing people today and organisations involved with looting the lottery to reserve.
Xesibe informed GroundUp that the SIU intended to lodge grievances in opposition to the accounting firms concerned and was examining if these corporations had been registered and, if so, with which Skilled bodies.
“We want these businesses being blacklisted,” she explained to GroundUp.
To qualify for Lottery funding, an organisation was needed to generate two a long time of annual monetary statements, Xesibe explained in Parliament.
Having said that, being an ongoing 6-12 months investigation into lottery corruption by GroundUp has unveiled, hijacked non-revenue organisations (NPOs) or new shelf non-gain companies (NPCs) without fiscal monitor records were being utilized to apply for funding.
In a few circumstances, almost similar monetary statements had been developed for unrelated organisations, frequently with only the names with the organisations changed, GroundUp’s investigation identified.
Documents submitted by genuine NPCs for unsuccessful grant applications were generally used by new or hijacked NPCs and NPOs to apply for funding. The small print and documents of your unsuccessful applicants ended up provided by senior Lottery officers for the dodgy applicants.
With cursory or - often - no verification, these dodgy applicants have been awarded countless rands in grants. Sometimes further tranches of cash were being paid out devoid of Significantly checking about the progress of assignments.
The vast majority of these grants had been created by way of proactive funding, which was at the heart of the looting of the lottery. Proactive funding permitted the Minister of Trade, Sector and Levels of competition, or perhaps the NLC along with its board, to determine results in to fund with no initial necessitating an software. This was stopped whenever a new NLC board was appointed.
R2-billion in grants underneath investigation
SIU head Advocate Andy Mothibi stated the SIU was at this time investigating grants valued at over R2-billion, along with the device was continue to frequently getting tip-offs about far more 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, concerned R247-million. Within the 3rd period, 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 “shortly” for your Presidential Proclamation, initially granted in Oct 2020 to investigate corruption involving lottery grants, being prolonged to include procurement through the NLC.
The SIU investigation experienced to this point led to 13 disciplinary referrals for the NLC, and administrative referrals to SARS and the businesses and Mental Houses Fee to blacklist people implicated within the looting. Complaints involving two individuals had been referred to the Lawful Observe Council and the SA Institute of Chartered Accountants.
The SIU experienced observed numerous trends underneath the preceding NLC board and executive - most of whom are implicated in looting - Mothibi advised MPs.
This integrated a “development of collusion among NLC officers and NPOs and NPCs”, “the hijacking of NPOs and NPCs” and “basic maladministration in the approval of grants,” he claimed.
Slow progress with the NPA
The SIU has frozen households, Qualities, automobiles and other assets well worth tens of thousands and thousands which were purchased with lottery cash, but MPs expressed worry at sluggish progress in prosecuting These associated with the looting. (The SIU is mandated only to recover belongings purchased with stolen state funds and doesn't have prosecuting powers).
Even though the SIU has referred 15 issues on the NPA, to date only two people have been introduced just before a court docket. Two Adult men appeared in court in Kimberley a short while ago in connection with misappropriated cash gathered for the project to battle gender-based violence.
In August 2022 Christopher Tshivule was sentenced to eight yrs in jail for his part 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, ended up dropped.
Important-Typical Mmeli Makinyane, the performing divisional commissioner for priority offences, informed MPs that the Hawks were being now investigating sixteen lottery corruption-connected circumstances. An additional one - the Kimberley make any difference - is ahead of a court and two are sent to your NPA for a decision to prosecute. An extra 5 circumstances are increasingly being investigated from the SAPS detective and forensic expert services, he stated.
Detailing The explanations with the hold off in prosecutions, NPA Deputy Countrywide Director Rodney de Kock stated Portion of The rationale was the Hawks had to do even more investigations if they gained dossiers through the SIU.
“In essence, the investigations undertaken through the SIU don't fulfill felony expectations for prosecutions.”
As a result, the NPA experienced to work with investigators in the DPCI (the Hawks) and SAPS to carry out criminal investigations and make sure the evidence satisfies criminal prosecution criteria, he stated, incorporating: “Having said that, the perform of your SIU is essential and contributes considerably to this method.”
De Kock said that the SIU’s investigation “usually leads to a number of referrals. The referrals may well finally bring about one docket and one court docket circumstance.”
He claimed that 12 matters, which are “close to eighty five% full”, were remaining jointly investigated via the Hawks plus the SIU’s Specialised Financial Operations Device. (Most of these situations, seven of which were being lodged in 2020, entail previous NLC chief functioning officer Phillemon Letwaba, who resigned below a cloud in 2022, and Pretoria law firm Leslie Ramulifho.)
De Kock explained the NPA confronted many “issues” in prosecuting situations. These, he said, integrated
the lapse of time among if the offences have been committed and the issuing with the Presidential Proclamation on 1 November 2020;
“unavailability of witnesses and/or documentary proof” (Earlier this 12 months, the SIU instructed the committee that essential documents required in certain prosecutions were deleted from your NLC Laptop or computer procedure or had long gone missing from Metrofile, a warehouse wherever copies of documents are archived and saved);
The point that some implicated people remain used by NLC; and
A challenge for the legality with the Presidential Proclamation by previous NLC chairperson Alfred Nevhutanda.
“The NPA is committed to making certain finalisation in these issues. To this finish, a crew of committed prosecutors continues to be allocated to oversee all NLC issues presently below investigation,” de Kock claimed. “Matters are handled like a priority. When [the] investigations are concluded, the NPA is likely to make a choice.”
What the companies say (or don’t)
GroundUp was only in the position to get comment from among the list of five businesses accused by the SIU in Parliament of manufacturing fraudulent annual economical statements,TTP Consulting.
Aubrey Moeng, considered one of TTP’s two directors, explained within an e-mail in reaction to inquiries: “Resulting from client confidentiality, we would like to recommend that TTP Consulting just isn't prepared to divulge consumers’ financial confidential information and facts with the public or media … without the consent in the customer or simply a lawful purpose.”
The business is a “companion” of numerous condition entities, like SARS plus the CIPC, In keeping with its Web site.
Neither of the two administrators of Dzata Accountants, who're each mentioned as inactive to the CIPC register of corporations, responded to emailed questions. The corporate is deregistered via the CIPC for failing to post monetary statements due to the fact 2021.
The only real director of Mageba Ntuli Investing and Consulting Service, Patrick Zulu, died a few years back, according to Formal data. The corporation was deregistered by the CIPC for failing to post money statements since 2021.
Matamela Magodi, the only real director of Magodi Consultants, did not respond to thoughts emailed to him.
GroundUp was not able to discover any listing for Tafta Consulting and Accounting Services While using the CIPC. We were being also not able to trace any of the company’s administrators to request comment.