The accountants who assisted loot the Lottery
The accountants who assisted loot the Lottery
Blog Article
The Distinctive Investigating Unit has discovered 5 accounting corporations that assisted loot Lottery cash. Graphic: Lisa Nelson
The Particular Investigating Device has identified 5 accounting and auditing companies that served non-income organizations loot Lottery revenue meant for “great results in”.
The accounting firms compiled fraudulent fiscal statements employed by these providers to submit an application for Lottery funding, the SIU told Parliament.
Performing Main countrywide investigations officer Zodwa Xesibe stated the SIU would acquire motion to have these corporations blacklisted.
A 4-year probe through the ruay Particular Investigating Device (SIU) has uncovered 5 accounting and auditing companies that served dodgy non-profit organizations loot many millions of rands meant for “excellent will cause” within the Lottery.
These corporations have been described with the SIU as “Qualified enablers,” who “compiled fraudulent economical statements” that were utilized by the companies to make an application for Lottery funding.
The five companies ended up named in Parliament through the SIU’s performing chief nationwide investigations officer Zodwa Xesibe. They may be TTP Consulting, Dzata Accountants, Magodi Consulting, Mageba Ntuli Consulting and Tafta Consulting and Accounting Products and services.
Fraudulent financials made by these 5 accounting corporations helped virtually forty providers get their fingers on lottery funding, based on the SIU presentation.
Dependant on a Device that contains facts with all lottery grants because 2002, these firms bought more than R314-million in funding.
“These NPCs were funded from the National Lotteries Fee (NLC) even so the funds weren't made use of for his or her intended intent,” Xesibe instructed Parliament’s Trade, Market and Competitors Portfolio Committee very last 7 days.
The SIU, the Hawks as well as National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) were being in Parliament to report back to the committee on development in bringing individuals and organisations associated with looting the lottery to e book.
Xesibe told GroundUp that the SIU intended to lodge complaints towards the accounting companies included and was examining if these corporations had been registered and, If that is so, with which Experienced bodies.
“We wish these companies to become blacklisted,” she informed GroundUp.
To qualify for Lottery funding, an organisation was required to deliver two yrs of yearly money statements, Xesibe discussed in Parliament.
Nevertheless, as an ongoing 6-12 months investigation into lottery corruption by GroundUp has discovered, hijacked non-earnings organisations (NPOs) or new shelf non-revenue businesses (NPCs) without any economical track documents ended up used to apply for funding.
In certain instances, Practically identical fiscal statements were made for unrelated organisations, often with only the names from the organisations adjusted, GroundUp’s investigation observed.
Paperwork submitted by authentic NPCs for unsuccessful grant programs ended up usually employed by new or hijacked NPCs and NPOs to make an application for funding. The small print and documents of the unsuccessful applicants had been provided by senior Lottery officers for the dodgy applicants.
With cursory or - usually - no verification, these dodgy applicants were awarded an incredible number of rands in grants. In some cases additional tranches of cash ended up paid out with out Significantly examining around the progress of projects.
The overwhelming majority of these grants ended up created by using proactive funding, which was at the center with the looting from the lottery. Proactive funding permitted the Minister of Trade, Business and Opposition, or maybe the NLC together with its board, to discover causes to fund without having 1st necessitating an application. This was stopped whenever a new NLC board was appointed.
R2-billion in grants beneath investigation
SIU head Advocate Andy Mothibi claimed the SIU was at this time investigating grants valued at over R2-billion, and also the device was however consistently obtaining suggestion-offs about more corruption.
He advised MPs which 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 completed, involved R247-million. Within the third stage, resulting from be finalised at the conclusion of the 12 months, the SIU is investigating grants valued at Practically R906-million, involving 40 NPOs and NPCs, Mothibi said.
He reported the SIU would utilize “quickly” for that Presidential Proclamation, originally granted in Oct 2020 to research corruption involving lottery grants, to become prolonged to incorporate procurement with the NLC.
The SIU investigation experienced to date triggered thirteen disciplinary referrals on the NLC, and administrative referrals to SARS and the businesses and Intellectual Attributes Fee to blacklist folks implicated in the looting. Issues involving two people had been referred to your Lawful Apply Council plus the SA Institute of Chartered Accountants.
The SIU experienced noticed various traits beneath the prior NLC board and executive - lots of whom are implicated in looting - Mothibi advised MPs.
This provided a “trend of collusion concerning NLC officers and NPOs and NPCs”, “the hijacking of NPOs and NPCs” and “common maladministration during the approval of grants,” he claimed.
Slow progress because of the NPA
The SIU has frozen houses, Houses, vehicles and other assets worthy of tens of millions that were bought with lottery cash, but MPs expressed worry at sluggish progress in prosecuting People involved with the looting. (The SIU is mandated only to Get well property bought with stolen point out cash and does not have prosecuting powers).
Whilst the SIU has referred 15 issues into the NPA, so far only two individuals have been brought right before a courtroom. Two Adult males appeared in courtroom in Kimberley recently in connection with misappropriated resources collected for the project to overcome gender-centered violence.
In August 2022 Christopher Tshivule was sentenced to eight a long time in prison for his aspect in a R1.5-million lottery grant fraud. Expenses from two individuals charged with him, who the SIU has described 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 had been presently investigating 16 lottery corruption-related circumstances. Yet another 1 - the Kimberley matter - is right before a courtroom and two have been despatched towards the NPA for a choice to prosecute. A further five cases are increasingly being investigated with the SAPS detective and forensic solutions, he claimed.
Describing the reasons to the hold off in prosecutions, NPA Deputy Countrywide Director Rodney de Kock mentioned Component of The main reason was that the Hawks had to do even further investigations every time they received dossiers in the SIU.
“In essence, the investigations undertaken by the SIU do not fulfill legal specifications for prosecutions.”
For that reason, the NPA had to operate with investigators inside the DPCI (the Hawks) and SAPS to conduct felony investigations and make certain that the proof meets prison prosecution expectations, he mentioned, introducing: “Having said that, the perform of your SIU is very important and contributes considerably to this method.”
De Kock reported which the SIU’s investigation “frequently results in several referrals. The referrals could in the long run bring about a person docket and a person court docket scenario.”
He mentioned that 12 issues, which might be “about 85% entire”, ended up currently being jointly investigated from the Hawks and the SIU’s Specialised Financial Operations Device. (Many of these conditions, seven of which were being lodged in 2020, include previous NLC Main operating officer Phillemon Letwaba, who resigned beneath a cloud in 2022, and Pretoria law firm Leslie Ramulifho.)
De Kock said the NPA faced various “problems” in prosecuting scenarios. These, he said, incorporated
the lapse of your time concerning in the event the offences were being fully commited and also the issuing from the Presidential Proclamation on one November 2020;
“unavailability of witnesses and/or documentary proof” (Before this 12 months, the SIU instructed the committee that critical paperwork necessary in some prosecutions were deleted through the NLC Personal computer method or experienced gone lacking from Metrofile, a warehouse exactly where copies of files are archived and saved);
The truth that some implicated people today are still utilized by NLC; and
A obstacle to the legality in the Presidential Proclamation by previous NLC chairperson Alfred Nevhutanda.
“The NPA is dedicated to ensuring finalisation in these matters. To this stop, a crew of focused prosecutors continues to be allocated to oversee all NLC issues currently under investigation,” de Kock said. “Issues are taken care of for a precedence. After [the] investigations are accomplished, the NPA will make a call.”
What the companies say (or don’t)
GroundUp was only capable of get remark from on the list of five companies accused via the SIU in Parliament of manufacturing fraudulent annual monetary statements,TTP Consulting.
Aubrey Moeng, certainly one of TTP’s two administrators, mentioned in an electronic mail in response to thoughts: “Resulting from client confidentiality, we need to advise that TTP Consulting is just not prepared to divulge clientele’ economical private details with the general public or media … with no consent of your client or perhaps a legal cause.”
The corporate is a “spouse” of many state entities, such as SARS and also the CIPC, Based on its website.
Neither of the two administrators of Dzata Accountants, who're both stated as inactive around the CIPC sign up of organizations, responded to emailed questions. The business continues to be deregistered via the CIPC for failing to submit economic statements considering the fact that 2021.
The sole director of Mageba Ntuli Trading and Consulting Provider, Patrick Zulu, died a few years back, In accordance with official records. The business was deregistered with the CIPC for failing to submit economic statements given that 2021.
Matamela Magodi, the sole director of Magodi Consultants, didn't respond to concerns emailed to him.
GroundUp was unable to obtain any listing for Tafta Consulting and Accounting Products and services Along with the CIPC. We were being also not able to trace any of the organization’s administrators to ask for comment.