The accountants who aided loot the Lottery

The accountants who aided loot the Lottery

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The Unique Investigating Unit has discovered five accounting firms that assisted loot Lottery money. Graphic: Lisa Nelson

The Specific Investigating Unit has discovered 5 accounting and auditing corporations that aided non-income providers loot Lottery cash intended for “excellent leads to”.
The accounting firms compiled fraudulent fiscal statements utilized by these corporations to make an application for Lottery funding, the SIU told Parliament.
Acting chief national investigations officer Zodwa Xesibe claimed the SIU would get motion to obtain these companies blacklisted.
A 4-yr probe through the ตรวจ หวย ลาว วัน นี้ Unique Investigating Unit (SIU) has uncovered 5 accounting and auditing firms that aided dodgy non-financial gain corporations loot numerous millions of rands intended for “excellent results in” in the Lottery.

These companies were explained through the SIU as “Experienced enablers,” who “compiled fraudulent fiscal statements” which were employed by the businesses to make an application for Lottery funding.

The 5 firms have been named in Parliament through the SIU’s acting chief national investigations officer Zodwa Xesibe. They can be TTP Consulting, Dzata Accountants, Magodi Consulting, Mageba Ntuli Consulting and Tafta Consulting and Accounting Companies.

Fraudulent financials made by these 5 accounting firms served approximately forty corporations get their palms on lottery funding, according to the SIU presentation.

Dependant on a tool that contains knowledge with all lottery grants due to the fact 2002, these firms got in excess of R314-million in funding.

“These NPCs were funded via the National Lotteries Fee (NLC) nevertheless the money were not utilised for his or her intended goal,” Xesibe instructed Parliament’s Trade, Marketplace and Competitiveness Portfolio Committee previous week.

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

Xesibe instructed GroundUp which the SIU intended to lodge complaints in opposition to the accounting corporations included and was checking if these corporations have been registered and, In that case, with which Qualified bodies.

“We want these organizations being blacklisted,” she instructed GroundUp.

To qualify for Lottery funding, an organisation was necessary to deliver two several years of once-a-year fiscal statements, Xesibe explained in Parliament.

Nonetheless, being an ongoing 6-yr investigation into lottery corruption by GroundUp has uncovered, hijacked non-earnings organisations (NPOs) or new shelf non-earnings corporations (NPCs) without having financial keep track of data were being utilized to make an application for funding.

In a few occasions, Just about identical economic statements were being made for unrelated organisations, typically with only the names from the organisations altered, GroundUp’s investigation uncovered.

Paperwork submitted by authentic NPCs for unsuccessful grant purposes were typically used by new or hijacked NPCs and NPOs to apply for funding. The main points and paperwork from the unsuccessful applicants were being supplied by senior Lottery officers for the dodgy applicants.

With cursory or - often - no verification, these dodgy applicants ended up awarded countless rands in grants. In some cases extra tranches of money ended up compensated out with out A great deal checking on the progress of tasks.

The vast majority of these grants have been designed by means of proactive funding, which was at the center with the looting with the lottery. Proactive funding authorized the Minister of Trade, Business and Levels of competition, or even the NLC along side its board, to detect results in to fund without the need of to start with demanding an software. This was stopped any time a new NLC board was appointed.

R2-billion in grants under investigation
SIU head Advocate Andy Mothibi mentioned the SIU was at present investigating grants valued at around R2-billion, and the unit was nevertheless frequently acquiring suggestion-offs about much more corruption.

He told MPs which the SIU’s investigation had been damaged into 3 phases: the primary, which has been finalised, probed dodgy grants amounting to R280-million, and the next, also finished, included R247-million. While in the 3rd stage, as a consequence of be finalised at the end of the yr, the SIU is investigating grants valued at Just about R906-million, involving forty NPOs and NPCs, Mothibi reported.

He claimed which the SIU would use “soon” for the Presidential Proclamation, at first granted in Oct 2020 to research corruption involving lottery grants, being prolonged to include procurement with the NLC.

The SIU investigation had so far resulted in thirteen disciplinary referrals to the NLC, and administrative referrals to SARS and the Companies and Mental Attributes Fee to blacklist individuals implicated in the looting. Problems involving two persons had been referred to the Authorized Apply Council and also the SA Institute of Chartered Accountants.

The SIU experienced noticed various developments underneath the previous NLC board and government - most of whom are already implicated in looting - Mothibi explained to MPs.

This bundled a “pattern of collusion involving NLC officers and NPOs and NPCs”, “the hijacking of NPOs and NPCs” and “typical maladministration within the approval of grants,” he mentioned.

Sluggish progress from the NPA
The SIU has frozen properties, Homes, cars and various assets worth tens of tens of millions that were purchased with lottery funds, but MPs expressed worry at slow development in prosecuting Individuals linked to the looting. (The SIU is mandated only to Get better assets purchased with stolen point out money and doesn't have prosecuting powers).

Though the SIU has referred 15 matters to your NPA, so far only two people have been introduced just before a courtroom. Two Adult men appeared in courtroom in Kimberley just lately in reference to misappropriated cash collected for the job to fight gender-based mostly violence.

In August 2022 Christopher Tshivule was sentenced to eight decades in jail for his aspect inside of a R1.five-million lottery grant fraud. Fees towards two people billed with him, who the SIU has described as “kingpins” during the corruption that overwhelmed the NLC, have been dropped.

Big-Typical Mmeli Makinyane, the performing divisional commissioner for priority offences, advised MPs that the Hawks had been at present investigating 16 lottery corruption-related conditions. An additional one - the Kimberley issue - is ahead of a court and two have already been sent to the NPA for a choice to prosecute. A further 5 conditions are increasingly being investigated through the SAPS detective and forensic companies, he stated.

Describing The explanations with the delay in prosecutions, NPA Deputy Nationwide Director Rodney de Kock reported Portion of The rationale was the Hawks needed to do further investigations every time they acquired dossiers with the SIU.

“In essence, the investigations undertaken through the SIU usually do not satisfy criminal standards for prosecutions.”

Hence, the NPA experienced to work with investigators in the DPCI (the Hawks) and SAPS to conduct prison investigations and make sure that the proof fulfills prison prosecution standards, he reported, incorporating: “That said, the work of your SIU is crucial and contributes considerably to this process.”

De Kock explained which the SIU’s investigation “usually brings about a number of referrals. The referrals may perhaps eventually bring about a single docket and one court docket circumstance.”

He mentioned that 12 matters, that happen to be “somewhere around eighty five% finish”, ended up staying jointly investigated because of the Hawks plus the SIU’s Specialised Financial Operations Device. (Many of these scenarios, seven of which had been lodged in 2020, require former NLC Main working officer Phillemon Letwaba, who resigned under a cloud in 2022, and Pretoria law firm Leslie Ramulifho.)

De Kock mentioned the NPA confronted many “worries” in prosecuting situations. These, he stated, incorporated

the lapse of time concerning once the offences have been dedicated and the issuing from the Presidential Proclamation on 1 November 2020;
“unavailability of witnesses and/or documentary proof” (Previously this yr, the SIU instructed the committee that critical files wanted in a few prosecutions had been deleted in the NLC Personal computer program or had long gone lacking from Metrofile, a warehouse in which copies of documents are archived and saved);
The truth that some implicated people remain utilized by NLC; and
A obstacle on the legality from the Presidential Proclamation by previous NLC chairperson Alfred Nevhutanda.
“The NPA is committed to guaranteeing finalisation in these matters. To this finish, a staff of dedicated prosecutors has long been allocated to supervise all NLC issues presently less than investigation,” de Kock said. “Issues are dealt with for a precedence. At the time [the] investigations are finished, the NPA can make a choice.”

What the companies say (or don’t)
GroundUp was only in the position to get remark from on the list of 5 corporations accused with the SIU in Parliament of producing fraudulent once-a-year money statements,TTP Consulting.

Aubrey Moeng, one among TTP’s two directors, said within an e-mail in response to issues: “Due to shopper confidentiality, we prefer to advise that TTP Consulting is not prepared to divulge consumers’ monetary private info with the public or media … without the consent from the client or possibly a authorized motive.”

The corporation is a “partner” of a number of point out entities, together with SARS as well as CIPC, Based on its website.

Neither of The 2 directors of Dzata Accountants, who will be equally shown as inactive within the CIPC sign up of providers, responded to emailed issues. The business continues to be deregistered because of the CIPC for failing to submit economical statements considering that 2021.

The only real director of Mageba Ntuli Trading and Consulting Support, Patrick Zulu, died 3 years ago, In keeping with Formal documents. The company was deregistered by the CIPC for failing to post financial statements because 2021.

Matamela Magodi, the only real 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 While using the CIPC. We have been also unable to trace any of the corporation’s directors to request remark.