The accountants who helped loot the Lottery

The accountants who helped loot the Lottery

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The Distinctive Investigating Unit has determined five accounting companies that aided loot Lottery cash. Graphic: Lisa Nelson

The Distinctive Investigating Device has determined 5 accounting and auditing corporations that helped non-revenue businesses loot Lottery dollars supposed for “excellent will cause”.
The accounting companies compiled fraudulent economical statements utilized by these corporations to make an application for Lottery funding, the SIU told Parliament.
Acting chief countrywide investigations officer Zodwa Xesibe mentioned the SIU would choose motion to get these corporations blacklisted.
A 4-12 months probe through the หวย หุ้น ช่อง 9 วัน นี้ Exclusive Investigating Unit (SIU) has exposed 5 accounting and auditing corporations that helped dodgy non-gain firms loot numerous an incredible number of rands intended for “superior leads to” through the Lottery.

These firms had been described by the SIU as “professional enablers,” who “compiled fraudulent monetary statements” that were utilized by the businesses to apply for Lottery funding.

The 5 businesses ended up named in Parliament by the SIU’s performing chief nationwide investigations officer Zodwa Xesibe. They are TTP Consulting, Dzata Accountants, Magodi Consulting, Mageba Ntuli Consulting and Tafta Consulting and Accounting Products and services.

Fraudulent financials made by these five accounting firms served nearly 40 companies get their fingers on lottery funding, based on the SIU presentation.

According to a Software containing data with all lottery grants because 2002, these providers received over R314-million in funding.

“These NPCs were being funded via the Countrywide Lotteries Fee (NLC) though the resources weren't employed for their supposed reason,” Xesibe instructed Parliament’s Trade, Industry and Levels of competition Portfolio Committee final week.

The SIU, the Hawks and the Countrywide Prosecuting Authority (NPA) ended up in Parliament to report back to the committee on progress in bringing individuals and organisations involved in looting the lottery to ebook.

Xesibe informed GroundUp which the SIU meant to lodge complaints in opposition to the accounting corporations included and was examining if these corporations had been registered and, If that's so, with which Experienced bodies.

“We would like these businesses being blacklisted,” she told GroundUp.

To qualify for Lottery funding, an organisation was needed to deliver two many years of yearly fiscal statements, Xesibe discussed in Parliament.

On the other hand, as an ongoing 6-yr investigation into lottery corruption by GroundUp has uncovered, hijacked non-revenue organisations (NPOs) or new shelf non-financial gain organizations (NPCs) without economic keep track of information were being used to make an application for funding.

In some cases, Nearly similar fiscal statements ended up produced for unrelated organisations, frequently with just the names of your organisations improved, GroundUp’s investigation uncovered.

Paperwork submitted by genuine NPCs for unsuccessful grant applications had been usually used by new or hijacked NPCs and NPOs to submit an application for funding. The small print and files in the unsuccessful applicants were being supplied by senior Lottery officials into the dodgy applicants.

With cursory or - usually - no verification, these dodgy applicants ended up awarded countless rands in grants. Often supplemental tranches of funds were paid out devoid of much checking within the progress of jobs.

The vast majority of such grants were produced by way of proactive funding, which was at the heart from the looting of the lottery. Proactive funding authorized the Minister of Trade, Industry and Competitiveness, or even the NLC together with its board, to identify causes to fund devoid of very first demanding an application. This was stopped each time a new NLC board was appointed.

R2-billion in grants less than investigation
SIU head Advocate Andy Mothibi explained the SIU was at present investigating grants valued at around R2-billion, and also the unit was however frequently getting suggestion-offs about additional corruption.

He told MPs that the SIU’s investigation had been broken into 3 phases: the primary, that has been finalised, probed dodgy grants amounting to R280-million, and the 2nd, also done, associated R247-million. During the 3rd period, 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 said.

He claimed that the SIU would implement “soon” with the Presidential Proclamation, initially granted in Oct 2020 to investigate corruption involving lottery grants, to generally be extended to include procurement by the NLC.

The SIU investigation had to this point led to 13 disciplinary referrals to your NLC, and administrative referrals to SARS and the businesses and Mental Properties Commission to blacklist individuals implicated while in the looting. Issues involving two individuals had been referred on the Authorized Follow Council plus the SA Institute of Chartered Accountants.

The SIU had observed several traits beneath the preceding NLC board and executive - many of whom have already been implicated in looting - Mothibi told MPs.

This included a “craze of collusion among NLC officers and NPOs and NPCs”, “the hijacking of NPOs and NPCs” and “standard maladministration within the acceptance of grants,” he said.

Sluggish progress via the NPA
The SIU has frozen properties, properties, cars and various assets well worth tens of thousands and thousands which were acquired with lottery cash, but MPs expressed issue at sluggish progress in prosecuting People linked to the looting. (The SIU is mandated only to Get better belongings purchased with stolen condition funds and doesn't have prosecuting powers).

Even though the SIU has referred 15 issues for the NPA, up to now only two folks have been brought prior to a court docket. Two Gentlemen appeared in court docket in Kimberley not long ago in connection with misappropriated cash gathered for your task to fight gender-centered violence.

In August 2022 Christopher Tshivule was sentenced to eight decades in prison for his section within a R1.five-million lottery grant fraud. Expenses against two people today charged with him, who the SIU has described as “kingpins” inside the corruption that overcome the NLC, have been dropped.

Key-Standard Mmeli Makinyane, the acting divisional commissioner for priority offences, told MPs which the Hawks were being presently investigating sixteen lottery corruption-linked conditions. A further just one - the Kimberley subject - is ahead of a court and two are actually sent to your NPA for a decision to prosecute. An additional five situations are now being investigated from the SAPS detective and forensic solutions, he said.

Detailing The explanations for that hold off in prosecutions, NPA Deputy National Director Rodney de Kock reported Element of The rationale was the Hawks needed to do further more investigations if they received dossiers from the SIU.

“In essence, the investigations undertaken with the SIU do not fulfill felony benchmarks for prosecutions.”

Consequently, the NPA had to work with investigators from the DPCI (the Hawks) and SAPS to conduct criminal investigations and make sure the proof satisfies prison prosecution specifications, he mentioned, adding: “Having said that, the perform in the SIU is very important and contributes significantly to this method.”

De Kock stated which the SIU’s investigation “typically results in many referrals. The referrals might eventually result in just one docket and 1 courtroom case.”

He explained that twelve matters, that are “around 85% total”, had been getting jointly investigated with the Hawks and the SIU’s Specialised Financial Operations Unit. (The majority of these circumstances, 7 of which have been lodged in 2020, entail former NLC Main working officer Phillemon Letwaba, who resigned below a cloud in 2022, and Pretoria law firm Leslie Ramulifho.)

De Kock reported the NPA confronted numerous “difficulties” in prosecuting conditions. These, he explained, included

the lapse of time amongst if the offences were committed plus the issuing from the Presidential Proclamation on 1 November 2020;
“unavailability of witnesses and/or documentary evidence” (Previously this yr, the SIU advised the committee that vital paperwork desired in certain prosecutions were deleted with the NLC computer program or had long gone missing from Metrofile, a warehouse in which copies of files are archived and stored);
The point that some implicated men and women remain employed by NLC; and
A challenge to your legality of the Presidential Proclamation by former NLC chairperson Alfred Nevhutanda.
“The NPA is devoted to making sure finalisation in these issues. To this finish, a staff of focused prosecutors has become allotted to supervise all NLC issues presently beneath investigation,” de Kock claimed. “Issues are handled being a precedence. The moment [the] investigations are completed, the NPA can make a choice.”

What the businesses say (or don’t)
GroundUp was only ready to get remark from one of several five firms accused because of the SIU in Parliament of producing fraudulent once-a-year financial statements,TTP Consulting.

Aubrey Moeng, amongst TTP’s two directors, mentioned within an electronic mail in response to thoughts: “Resulting from consumer confidentiality, we need to suggest that TTP Consulting is not ready to disclose clientele’ economical confidential information and facts with the public or media … without the consent with the shopper or even a lawful purpose.”

The corporate is actually a “lover” of quite a few point out entities, such as SARS as well as the CIPC, In line with its Internet site.

Neither of the two administrators of Dzata Accountants, who're the two outlined as inactive over the CIPC sign-up of companies, responded to emailed thoughts. The business continues to be deregistered from the CIPC for failing to submit money statements given that 2021.

The only director of Mageba Ntuli Investing and Consulting Service, Patrick Zulu, died three many years ago, In accordance with official information. The business was deregistered because of the CIPC for failing to submit economic statements considering that 2021.

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

GroundUp was struggling to obtain any listing for Tafta Consulting and Accounting Services with the CIPC. We were being also not able to trace any of the business’s administrators to ask for remark.