The accountants who helped loot the Lottery
The accountants who helped loot the Lottery
Blog Article
The Special Investigating Device has identified 5 accounting companies that helped loot Lottery cash. Graphic: Lisa Nelson
The Special Investigating Unit has identified 5 accounting and auditing corporations that served non-profit businesses loot Lottery money meant for “very good triggers”.
The accounting corporations compiled fraudulent financial statements used by these organizations to make an application for Lottery funding, the SIU advised Parliament.
Acting chief countrywide investigations officer Zodwa Xesibe mentioned the SIU would take motion to get these corporations blacklisted.
A four-calendar year probe from the ตรวจ รางวัล Particular Investigating Unit (SIU) has uncovered 5 accounting and auditing firms that assisted dodgy non-revenue companies loot many an incredible number of rands meant for “great causes” within the Lottery.
These companies were being explained because of the SIU as “Expert enablers,” who “compiled fraudulent money statements” which were utilized by the businesses to apply for Lottery funding.
The 5 companies were being named in Parliament because of the SIU’s performing Main national investigations officer Zodwa Xesibe. They are TTP Consulting, Dzata Accountants, Magodi Consulting, Mageba Ntuli Consulting and Tafta Consulting and Accounting Expert services.
Fraudulent financials made by these five accounting firms aided practically 40 providers get their palms on lottery funding, based on the SIU presentation.
Based on a tool containing data with all lottery grants given that 2002, these firms obtained in excess of R314-million in funding.
“These NPCs were being funded by the Nationwide Lotteries Commission (NLC) although the cash weren't made use of for his or her meant reason,” Xesibe instructed Parliament’s Trade, Field and Levels of competition Portfolio Committee past 7 days.
The SIU, the Hawks plus the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) were being in Parliament to report to the committee on development in bringing people and organisations associated with looting the lottery to e book.
Xesibe informed GroundUp the SIU intended to lodge issues in opposition to the accounting companies associated and was examining if these firms ended up registered and, In that case, with which Qualified bodies.
“We want these corporations to be blacklisted,” she told GroundUp.
To qualify for Lottery funding, an organisation was required to create two several years of yearly economical statements, Xesibe described in Parliament.
Nevertheless, as an ongoing 6-calendar year investigation into lottery corruption by GroundUp has revealed, hijacked non-gain organisations (NPOs) or new shelf non-profit businesses (NPCs) with no monetary keep track of data were used to submit an application for funding.
In a few instances, Practically identical fiscal statements were developed for unrelated organisations, frequently with only the names with the organisations altered, GroundUp’s investigation identified.
Paperwork submitted by real NPCs for unsuccessful grant purposes had been usually used by new or hijacked NPCs and NPOs to make an application for funding. The small print and documents of the unsuccessful applicants were being provided by senior Lottery officers towards the dodgy applicants.
With cursory or - usually - no verification, these dodgy applicants ended up awarded many rands in grants. In some cases added tranches of funds were compensated out without having Considerably examining about the development of assignments.
The overwhelming majority of these grants were built through proactive funding, which was at the guts from the looting of the lottery. Proactive funding permitted the Minister of Trade, Industry and Levels of competition, or maybe the NLC at the side of its board, to determine brings about to fund without having very first 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 presently investigating grants valued at over R2-billion, and the device was still consistently getting idea-offs about much more corruption.
He instructed MPs which the SIU’s investigation were broken into three phases: the primary, which has been finalised, probed dodgy grants amounting to R280-million, and the second, also completed, associated R247-million. During the 3rd stage, as a consequence of be finalised at the end of the year, the SIU is investigating grants valued at Pretty much R906-million, involving 40 NPOs and NPCs, Mothibi stated.
He said the SIU would apply “shortly” for the Presidential Proclamation, initially granted in Oct 2020 to research corruption involving lottery grants, to be extended to incorporate procurement because of the NLC.
The SIU investigation had to this point resulted in thirteen disciplinary referrals for the NLC, and administrative referrals to SARS and the businesses and Mental Attributes Commission to blacklist folks implicated in the looting. Issues involving two people had been referred into the Legal Follow Council and also the SA Institute of Chartered Accountants.
The SIU experienced noticed many trends beneath the previous NLC board and executive - a lot of whom are already implicated in looting - Mothibi told MPs.
This incorporated a “development of collusion among NLC officials and NPOs and NPCs”, “the hijacking of NPOs and NPCs” and “standard maladministration during the acceptance of grants,” he reported.
Gradual development through the NPA
The SIU has frozen properties, Qualities, vehicles together with other assets really worth tens of hundreds of thousands which were bought with lottery resources, but MPs expressed problem at slow development in prosecuting People linked to the looting. (The SIU is mandated only to recover assets bought with stolen condition funds and doesn't have prosecuting powers).
Although the SIU has referred 15 matters into the NPA, to date only two people have been brought before a court. Two men appeared in court docket in Kimberley recently in reference to misappropriated resources collected for a project to battle gender-based violence.
In August 2022 Christopher Tshivule was sentenced to eight several years in jail for his portion within a R1.five-million lottery grant fraud. Rates against two people today billed with him, who the SIU has referred to as “kingpins” inside the corruption that overwhelmed the NLC, ended up dropped.
Main-Typical Mmeli Makinyane, the performing divisional commissioner for priority offences, instructed MPs that the Hawks ended up currently investigating 16 lottery corruption-linked cases. One more just one - the Kimberley make any difference - is prior to a court and two are despatched to your NPA for a call to prosecute. An additional five circumstances are being investigated via the SAPS detective and forensic solutions, he reported.
Conveying The explanations for your delay in prosecutions, NPA Deputy Nationwide Director Rodney de Kock said Portion of The key reason why was that the Hawks had to do even further investigations once they obtained dossiers with the SIU.
“In essence, the investigations carried out from the SIU tend not to fulfill prison requirements for prosecutions.”
Consequently, the NPA experienced to work with investigators while in the DPCI (the Hawks) and SAPS to conduct prison investigations and be sure that the evidence meets prison prosecution standards, he reported, including: “Having said that, the perform of the SIU is crucial and contributes considerably to this process.”
De Kock mentioned which the SIU’s investigation “typically results in several referrals. The referrals may perhaps eventually bring about a single docket and just one courtroom scenario.”
He said that twelve issues, that are “about eighty five% comprehensive”, were being becoming jointly investigated through the Hawks and also the SIU’s Specialised Economic Functions Unit. (Many of these conditions, seven of which were lodged in 2020, require former NLC Main working officer Phillemon Letwaba, who resigned less than a cloud in 2022, and Pretoria lawyer Leslie Ramulifho.)
De Kock reported the NPA faced many “challenges” in prosecuting situations. These, he reported, integrated
the lapse of time amongst if the offences were being fully commited and also the issuing on the Presidential Proclamation on one November 2020;
“unavailability of witnesses and/or documentary proof” (Previously this yr, the SIU informed the committee that crucial documents desired in a few prosecutions had been deleted in the NLC Pc system or experienced absent missing from Metrofile, a warehouse where copies of paperwork are archived and stored);
The reality that some implicated men and women are still utilized by NLC; and
A challenge for the legality of the Presidential Proclamation by former NLC chairperson Alfred Nevhutanda.
“The NPA is dedicated to making sure finalisation in these matters. To this conclude, a team of committed prosecutors has been allocated to oversee all NLC matters at this time under investigation,” de Kock mentioned. “Matters are handled as being a priority. When [the] investigations are finished, the NPA can make a decision.”
What the companies say (or don’t)
GroundUp was only capable of get comment from one of several five organizations accused through the SIU in Parliament of manufacturing fraudulent yearly fiscal statements,TTP Consulting.
Aubrey Moeng, one among TTP’s two administrators, explained in an electronic mail in response to issues: “On account of shopper confidentiality, we want to recommend that TTP Consulting is not willing to divulge purchasers’ financial confidential data with the general public or media … with no consent of your shopper or simply a lawful motive.”
The company is a “companion” of several point out entities, like SARS along with the CIPC, As outlined by its Internet site.
Neither of the two administrators of Dzata Accountants, that are the two listed as inactive to the CIPC register of providers, responded to emailed queries. The corporation is deregistered via the CIPC for failing to submit economic statements considering the fact that 2021.
The only real director of Mageba Ntuli Investing and Consulting Service, Patrick Zulu, died three a long time in the past, In line with official information. The business was deregistered through the CIPC for failing to submit financial statements because 2021.
Matamela Magodi, the sole director of Magodi Consultants, didn't respond to concerns emailed to him.
GroundUp was struggling to come across any listing for Tafta Consulting and Accounting Expert services Together with the CIPC. We were also not able to trace any of the organization’s administrators to ask for comment.