The accountants who assisted loot the Lottery
The accountants who assisted loot the Lottery
Blog Article
The Distinctive Investigating Unit has determined five accounting firms that aided loot Lottery cash. Graphic: Lisa Nelson
The Unique Investigating Device has identified five accounting and auditing firms that helped non-financial gain firms loot Lottery income intended for “excellent brings about”.
The accounting corporations compiled fraudulent fiscal statements employed by these businesses to submit an application for Lottery funding, the SIU informed Parliament.
Performing Main nationwide investigations officer Zodwa Xesibe claimed the SIU would choose motion to possess these firms blacklisted.
A four-yr probe because of the ตรวจ หวย ลาว วัน นี้ Exclusive Investigating Device (SIU) has uncovered five accounting and auditing corporations that assisted dodgy non-income companies loot many hundreds of millions of rands designed for “good brings about” within the Lottery.
These firms were described from the SIU as “Qualified enablers,” who “compiled fraudulent financial statements” which were employed by the businesses to submit an application for Lottery funding.
The 5 corporations had been named in Parliament with the SIU’s acting chief national 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 produced by these 5 accounting corporations aided practically 40 companies get their palms on lottery funding, based on the SIU presentation.
Based upon a Device containing knowledge with all lottery grants because 2002, these businesses obtained more than R314-million in funding.
“These NPCs ended up funded from the Nationwide Lotteries Commission (NLC) however the money were not employed for their supposed objective,” Xesibe advised Parliament’s Trade, Marketplace and Competitors Portfolio Committee final week.
The SIU, the Hawks plus the Nationwide Prosecuting Authority (NPA) had been in Parliament to report to the committee on development in bringing people and organisations involved with looting the lottery to e book.
Xesibe informed GroundUp which the SIU intended to lodge grievances against the accounting companies associated and was checking if these corporations were registered and, if so, with which Qualified bodies.
“We want these companies for being blacklisted,” she advised GroundUp.
To qualify for Lottery funding, an organisation was necessary to produce two years of once-a-year financial statements, Xesibe explained in Parliament.
Nonetheless, as an ongoing six-12 months investigation into lottery corruption by GroundUp has disclosed, hijacked non-revenue organisations (NPOs) or new shelf non-earnings corporations (NPCs) without economical keep track of data had been utilized to submit an application for funding.
In a few situations, Just about identical financial statements were being generated for unrelated organisations, frequently with only the names from the organisations modified, GroundUp’s investigation uncovered.
Files submitted by genuine NPCs for unsuccessful grant purposes were being frequently employed by new or hijacked NPCs and NPOs to submit an application for funding. The main points and files of your unsuccessful applicants ended up provided by senior Lottery officials into the dodgy applicants.
With cursory or - generally - no verification, these dodgy applicants had been awarded countless rands in grants. In some cases further tranches of resources were being paid out without Substantially checking around the progress of jobs.
The vast majority of these grants were created by way of proactive funding, which was at the guts from the looting on the lottery. Proactive funding permitted the Minister of Trade, Marketplace and Competitors, or maybe the NLC in conjunction with its board, to recognize triggers to fund with out initial 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 claimed the SIU was at the moment investigating grants valued at about R2-billion, plus the device was even now routinely acquiring tip-offs about extra corruption.
He advised MPs which the SIU’s investigation had been broken into 3 phases: the very first, that has been finalised, probed dodgy grants amounting to R280-million, and the second, also finished, included R247-million. In the third phase, as a consequence of be finalised at the conclusion of the calendar year, the SIU is investigating grants valued at Pretty much R906-million, involving forty NPOs and NPCs, Mothibi said.
He stated that the SIU would use “shortly” to the Presidential Proclamation, initially granted in Oct 2020 to analyze corruption involving lottery grants, being extended to incorporate procurement from the NLC.
The SIU investigation experienced to date resulted in thirteen disciplinary referrals for the NLC, and administrative referrals to SARS and the Companies and Intellectual Attributes Fee to blacklist people implicated inside the looting. Issues involving two individuals had been referred to your Lawful Apply Council as well as SA Institute of Chartered Accountants.
The SIU experienced noticed several trends under the earlier NLC board and executive - many of whom are already implicated in looting - Mothibi informed MPs.
This incorporated a “trend of collusion concerning NLC officials and NPOs and NPCs”, “the hijacking of NPOs and NPCs” and “common maladministration within the acceptance of grants,” he mentioned.
Gradual progress via the NPA
The SIU has frozen properties, properties, autos and also other belongings really worth tens of tens of millions which were acquired with lottery funds, but MPs expressed worry at gradual progress in prosecuting Individuals linked to the looting. (The SIU is mandated only to Recuperate property purchased with stolen condition cash and doesn't have prosecuting powers).
Even though the SIU has referred 15 matters to the NPA, so far only two folks have been introduced just before a court. Two men appeared in courtroom in Kimberley a short while ago in reference to misappropriated funds gathered for the venture to beat gender-dependent violence.
In August 2022 Christopher Tshivule was sentenced to eight years in prison for his part within a R1.five-million lottery grant fraud. Fees against two people today charged with him, who the SIU has called “kingpins” inside the corruption that confused the NLC, had been dropped.
Important-Common Mmeli Makinyane, the performing divisional commissioner for priority offences, explained to MPs the Hawks were being at present investigating 16 lottery corruption-connected situations. A further a single - the Kimberley issue - is ahead of a courtroom and two are despatched to your NPA for a choice to prosecute. An additional 5 conditions are increasingly being investigated with the SAPS detective and forensic products and services, he claimed.
Outlining the reasons for that delay in prosecutions, NPA Deputy Nationwide Director Rodney de Kock said Element of The explanation was which the Hawks needed to do additional investigations once they gained dossiers through the SIU.
“In essence, the investigations carried out through the SIU will not fulfill legal standards for prosecutions.”
As a result, the NPA had to work with investigators inside the DPCI (the Hawks) and SAPS to carry out felony investigations and make certain that the evidence fulfills criminal prosecution requirements, he mentioned, including: “That said, the operate on the SIU is crucial and contributes considerably to this process.”
De Kock mentioned that the SIU’s investigation “generally results in many referrals. The referrals might in the long run result in one particular docket and one court situation.”
He reported that 12 matters, that are “approximately eighty five% total”, have been staying jointly investigated from the Hawks along with the SIU’s Specialised Financial Operations Unit. (A large number of situations, 7 of which were lodged in 2020, involve previous NLC chief functioning officer Phillemon Letwaba, who resigned underneath a cloud in 2022, and Pretoria lawyer Leslie Ramulifho.)
De Kock claimed the NPA faced several “worries” in prosecuting situations. These, he mentioned, bundled
the lapse of time involving when the offences ended up fully commited plus the issuing in the Presidential Proclamation on one November 2020;
“unavailability of witnesses and/or documentary proof” (Earlier this 12 months, the SIU explained to the committee that important documents essential in certain prosecutions were deleted with the NLC Pc technique or had absent missing from Metrofile, a warehouse where copies of paperwork are archived and stored);
The truth that some implicated persons are still employed by NLC; and
A obstacle for the legality of the Presidential Proclamation by former NLC chairperson Alfred Nevhutanda.
“The NPA is dedicated to guaranteeing finalisation in these matters. To this conclude, a group of focused prosecutors has actually been allocated to supervise all NLC matters at the moment under investigation,” de Kock explained. “Issues are taken care of as being a priority. As soon as [the] investigations are accomplished, the NPA can make a decision.”
What the companies say (or don’t)
GroundUp was only capable to get comment from on the list of 5 companies accused from the SIU in Parliament of producing fraudulent once-a-year fiscal statements,TTP Consulting.
Aubrey Moeng, among TTP’s two directors, reported in an electronic mail in response to issues: “On account of shopper confidentiality, we desire to recommend that TTP Consulting is not willing to divulge consumers’ money private info with the public or media … without the consent on the shopper or even a authorized motive.”
The company is a “companion” of a number of point out entities, together with SARS and the CIPC, Based on its Site.
Neither of The 2 directors of Dzata Accountants, who are both of those shown as inactive within the CIPC sign up of organizations, responded to emailed concerns. The corporate is deregistered by the CIPC for failing to submit economical statements given that 2021.
The only director of Mageba Ntuli Buying and selling and Consulting Company, Patrick Zulu, died three a long time in the past, In line with official information. The business was deregistered with the CIPC for failing to submit economic statements considering the fact that 2021.
Matamela Magodi, the only director of Magodi Consultants, did not respond to concerns emailed to him.
GroundUp was unable to find any listing for Tafta Consulting and Accounting Providers Using the CIPC. We were also struggling to trace any of the corporate’s directors to ask for remark.