The accountants who helped loot the Lottery

The accountants who helped loot the Lottery

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The Particular Investigating Device has discovered five accounting corporations that assisted loot Lottery resources. Graphic: Lisa Nelson

The Specific Investigating Device has identified five accounting and auditing corporations that served non-income businesses loot Lottery dollars supposed for “great results in”.
The accounting firms compiled fraudulent economic statements utilized by these corporations to submit an application for Lottery funding, the SIU explained to Parliament.
Performing chief nationwide investigations officer Zodwa Xesibe mentioned the SIU would just take action to possess these corporations blacklisted.
A 4-yr probe through the หวย ออก Special Investigating Unit (SIU) has uncovered 5 accounting and auditing companies that assisted dodgy non-financial gain businesses loot countless many rands designed for “great triggers” from your Lottery.

These firms had been described by the SIU as “professional enablers,” who “compiled fraudulent financial statements” which were used by the businesses to make an application for Lottery funding.

The five firms had been named in Parliament because of the SIU’s acting Main countrywide investigations officer Zodwa Xesibe. These are TTP Consulting, Dzata Accountants, Magodi Consulting, Mageba Ntuli Consulting and Tafta Consulting and Accounting Solutions.

Fraudulent financials made by these 5 accounting corporations served almost 40 businesses get their fingers on lottery funding, according to the SIU presentation.

Determined by a Resource made up of data with all lottery grants because 2002, these organizations obtained about R314-million in funding.

“These NPCs had been funded with the Nationwide Lotteries Fee (NLC) though the resources were not utilized for his or her intended purpose,” Xesibe advised Parliament’s Trade, Business and Competitors Portfolio Committee last week.

The SIU, the Hawks and the Nationwide Prosecuting Authority (NPA) were in Parliament to report back to the committee on development in bringing people today and organisations linked to looting the lottery to ebook.

Xesibe instructed GroundUp that the SIU meant to lodge grievances towards the accounting corporations included and was examining if these companies were being registered and, If that's the case, with which Expert bodies.

“We wish these organizations to be blacklisted,” she advised GroundUp.

To qualify for Lottery funding, an organisation was required to deliver two yrs of yearly financial statements, Xesibe defined in Parliament.

Having said that, being an ongoing six-yr investigation into lottery corruption by GroundUp has unveiled, hijacked non-profit organisations (NPOs) or new shelf non-financial gain businesses (NPCs) without financial observe records had been accustomed to submit an application for funding.

In some circumstances, almost identical economic statements have been developed for unrelated organisations, generally with just the names with the organisations adjusted, GroundUp’s investigation observed.

Paperwork submitted by real NPCs for unsuccessful grant applications were being typically used by new or hijacked NPCs and NPOs to submit an application for funding. The main points and paperwork in the unsuccessful applicants had been equipped by senior Lottery officials into the dodgy applicants.

With cursory or - generally - no verification, these dodgy applicants ended up awarded many rands in grants. In some cases more tranches of funds have been compensated out with no Significantly examining within the development of projects.

The overwhelming majority of such grants were manufactured via proactive funding, which was at the center in the looting on the lottery. Proactive funding allowed the Minister of Trade, Business and Level of competition, or perhaps the NLC along side its board, to discover brings about to fund with no to start with demanding an software. This was stopped every time a new NLC board was appointed.

R2-billion in grants beneath investigation
SIU head Advocate Andy Mothibi reported the SIU was now investigating grants valued at in excess of R2-billion, as well as the device was nevertheless regularly obtaining tip-offs about additional corruption.

He informed MPs the SIU’s investigation were damaged into a few phases: the primary, that has been finalised, probed dodgy grants amounting to R280-million, and the 2nd, also accomplished, associated R247-million. Within the third period, as a result of be finalised at the end of the calendar year, the SIU is investigating grants valued at almost R906-million, involving forty NPOs and NPCs, Mothibi said.

He said which the SIU would implement “before long” for that Presidential Proclamation, at first granted in Oct 2020 to research corruption involving lottery grants, to be prolonged to include procurement because of the NLC.

The SIU investigation had so far led to 13 disciplinary referrals to the NLC, and administrative referrals to SARS and the businesses and Intellectual Qualities Fee to blacklist persons implicated while in the looting. Complaints involving two people today had been referred to the Authorized Apply Council and the SA Institute of Chartered Accountants.

The SIU experienced noticed a number of developments beneath the past NLC board and govt - most of whom happen to be implicated in looting - Mothibi advised MPs.

This provided a “pattern of collusion involving NLC officials and NPOs and NPCs”, “the hijacking of NPOs and NPCs” and “basic maladministration within the acceptance of grants,” he said.

Gradual progress by the NPA
The SIU has frozen households, Qualities, cars and trucks and also other belongings value tens of millions that were purchased with lottery cash, but MPs expressed worry at gradual progress in prosecuting These involved with the looting. (The SIU is mandated only to Get better belongings purchased with stolen condition money and does not have prosecuting powers).

Even though the SIU has referred 15 issues to your NPA, thus far only two individuals have been brought prior to a court. Two Adult males appeared in courtroom in Kimberley just lately in reference to misappropriated funds collected for a job to combat gender-dependent violence.

In August 2022 Christopher Tshivule was sentenced to 8 several years in jail for his part in the R1.five-million lottery grant fraud. Rates against two men and women charged with him, who the SIU has referred to as “kingpins” from the corruption that confused the NLC, were being dropped.

Major-General Mmeli Makinyane, the performing divisional commissioner for precedence offences, advised MPs the Hawks had been at present investigating 16 lottery corruption-similar conditions. A different one particular - the Kimberley issue - is prior to a court docket and two are actually sent into the NPA for a choice to prosecute. An extra five situations are 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 reported A part of The rationale was the Hawks had to do even more investigations if they gained dossiers within the SIU.

“In essence, the investigations carried out through the SIU usually do not fulfill prison benchmarks for prosecutions.”

Thus, the NPA had to operate with investigators while in the DPCI (the Hawks) and SAPS to perform legal investigations and make certain that the proof meets felony prosecution specifications, he said, incorporating: “That said, the get the job done in the SIU is crucial and contributes tremendously to this method.”

De Kock said that the SIU’s investigation “typically brings about multiple referrals. The referrals could eventually cause just one docket and a person court docket scenario.”

He mentioned that 12 issues, that are “roughly eighty five% comprehensive”, have been getting jointly investigated from the Hawks and the SIU’s Specialised Financial Operations Device. (These types of situations, 7 of which had been lodged in 2020, contain former NLC chief running officer Phillemon Letwaba, who resigned under a cloud in 2022, and Pretoria attorney Leslie Ramulifho.)

De Kock claimed the NPA confronted a number of “troubles” in prosecuting cases. These, he mentioned, provided

the lapse of time involving in the event the offences had been dedicated plus the issuing of your Presidential Proclamation on 1 November 2020;
“unavailability of witnesses and/or documentary evidence” (Earlier this year, the SIU told the committee that vital paperwork necessary in some prosecutions were deleted through the NLC Personal computer program or experienced absent missing from Metrofile, a warehouse wherever copies of documents are archived and saved);
the fact that some implicated persons are still utilized by NLC; and
A problem towards the legality of your Presidential Proclamation by previous NLC chairperson Alfred Nevhutanda.
“The NPA is committed to making certain finalisation in these matters. To this conclusion, a team of dedicated prosecutors has become allocated to oversee all NLC matters currently below investigation,” de Kock claimed. “Issues are managed to be a precedence. At the time [the] investigations are done, the NPA could make a call.”

What the companies say (or don’t)
GroundUp was only capable of get remark from one of many five companies accused by the SIU in Parliament of manufacturing fraudulent annual financial statements,TTP Consulting.

Aubrey Moeng, amongst TTP’s two directors, explained in an e mail in response to thoughts: “Resulting from consumer confidentiality, we wish to suggest that TTP Consulting isn't ready to disclose clientele’ money confidential information and facts with the public or media … without the consent of your client or maybe a lawful reason.”

The business is usually a “companion” of numerous state entities, such as SARS and also the CIPC, In line with its Site.

Neither of The 2 directors of Dzata Accountants, who are both of those shown as inactive within the CIPC register of corporations, responded to emailed queries. The organization has long been deregistered with the CIPC for failing to submit fiscal statements because 2021.

The only director of Mageba Ntuli Investing and Consulting Assistance, Patrick Zulu, died a few a long time in the past, In accordance with official information. The corporation was deregistered by the CIPC for failing to post economical statements considering the fact that 2021.

Matamela Magodi, the only real director of Magodi Consultants, did not respond to questions emailed to him.

GroundUp was struggling to uncover any listing for Tafta Consulting and Accounting Companies Together with the CIPC. We were also struggling to trace any of the organization’s administrators to request comment.