The accountants who helped loot the Lottery

The accountants who helped loot the Lottery

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The Unique Investigating Device has determined five accounting corporations that aided loot Lottery money. Graphic: Lisa Nelson

The Particular Investigating Unit has determined 5 accounting and auditing firms that served non-profit businesses loot Lottery funds meant for “superior brings about”.
The accounting firms compiled fraudulent money statements used by these firms to apply for Lottery funding, the SIU instructed Parliament.
Performing Main nationwide investigations officer Zodwa Xesibe claimed the SIU would take action to acquire these companies blacklisted.
A 4-yr probe through the luckyvip77 Exclusive Investigating Unit (SIU) has uncovered 5 accounting and auditing companies that helped dodgy non-profit corporations loot many numerous rands meant for “superior brings about” within the Lottery.

These companies were being described because of the SIU as “professional enablers,” who “compiled fraudulent economic statements” that were employed by the businesses to apply for Lottery funding.

The five firms were being named in Parliament by the SIU’s performing Main nationwide investigations officer Zodwa Xesibe. They are TTP Consulting, Dzata Accountants, Magodi Consulting, Mageba Ntuli Consulting and Tafta Consulting and Accounting Providers.

Fraudulent financials produced by these 5 accounting companies helped practically forty businesses get their hands on lottery funding, according to the SIU presentation.

Determined by a tool that contains information with all lottery grants due to the fact 2002, these companies received over R314-million in funding.

“These NPCs have been funded via the Countrywide Lotteries Fee (NLC) though the funds were not utilized for his or her supposed reason,” Xesibe explained to Parliament’s Trade, Business and Competitors Portfolio Committee final week.

The SIU, the Hawks along with the Nationwide Prosecuting Authority (NPA) have been in Parliament to report back to the committee on progress in bringing people and organisations involved with looting the lottery to e book.

Xesibe instructed GroundUp that the SIU intended to lodge complaints versus the accounting companies included and was examining if these firms were being registered and, If that's so, with which Specialist bodies.

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

To qualify for Lottery funding, an organisation was required to deliver two many years of yearly monetary statements, Xesibe stated in Parliament.

On the other hand, being an ongoing six-yr investigation into lottery corruption by GroundUp has disclosed, hijacked non-profit organisations (NPOs) or new shelf non-gain businesses (NPCs) with no economic track information were accustomed to make an application for funding.

In some instances, Pretty much similar financial statements had been produced for unrelated organisations, usually with only the names on the organisations transformed, GroundUp’s investigation uncovered.

Files submitted by authentic NPCs for unsuccessful grant purposes have been often employed by new or hijacked NPCs and NPOs to make an application for funding. The details and paperwork of the unsuccessful applicants have been equipped by senior Lottery officers towards the dodgy applicants.

With cursory or - generally - no verification, these dodgy applicants were being awarded a lot of rands in grants. Occasionally additional tranches of money were paid out out with out Substantially checking about the development of projects.

The vast majority of these grants had been created by means of proactive funding, which was at the guts on the looting from the lottery. Proactive funding authorized the Minister of Trade, Sector and Competition, or the NLC in conjunction with its board, to detect brings about to fund without the need of initially demanding an application. This was stopped when a new NLC board was appointed.

R2-billion in grants beneath investigation
SIU head Advocate Andy Mothibi stated the SIU was at this time investigating grants valued at more than R2-billion, along with the device was nonetheless routinely getting suggestion-offs about extra corruption.

He told MPs that the SIU’s investigation had been broken into three phases: the initial, which has been finalised, probed dodgy grants amounting to R280-million, and the 2nd, also done, included R247-million. While in the third period, as a consequence of be finalised at the end of the year, the SIU is investigating grants valued at almost R906-million, involving forty NPOs and NPCs, Mothibi mentioned.

He said which the SIU would use “before long” to the Presidential Proclamation, at first granted in October 2020 to analyze corruption involving lottery grants, to get prolonged to include procurement with the NLC.

The SIU investigation experienced up to now brought about thirteen disciplinary referrals towards the NLC, and administrative referrals to SARS and the Companies and Intellectual Houses Commission to blacklist individuals implicated while in the looting. Issues involving two people had been referred for the Authorized Follow Council and the SA Institute of Chartered Accountants.

The SIU had noticed quite a few traits beneath the preceding NLC board and executive - many of whom happen to be implicated in looting - Mothibi informed MPs.

This included a “craze of collusion in between NLC officers and NPOs and NPCs”, “the hijacking of NPOs and NPCs” and “common maladministration in the acceptance of grants,” he explained.

Gradual progress from the NPA
The SIU has frozen homes, Attributes, autos and also other belongings really worth tens of millions that were bought with lottery resources, but MPs expressed problem at slow 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).

Although the SIU has referred 15 matters towards the NPA, so far only two people have been introduced prior to a court. Two Guys appeared in court docket in Kimberley not too long ago in reference to misappropriated money gathered to get a challenge to fight gender-centered violence.

In August 2022 Christopher Tshivule was sentenced to eight a long time in jail for his part inside a R1.five-million lottery grant fraud. Expenses versus two people charged with him, who the SIU has called “kingpins” within the corruption that overcome the NLC, ended up dropped.

Major-Common Mmeli Makinyane, the acting divisional commissioner for priority offences, advised MPs that the Hawks were at present investigating 16 lottery corruption-linked conditions. Another 1 - the Kimberley matter - is right before a courtroom and two have already been despatched for the NPA for a call to prosecute. A further five circumstances are being investigated with the SAPS detective and forensic solutions, he claimed.

Detailing The explanations with the delay in prosecutions, NPA Deputy Countrywide Director Rodney de Kock explained Portion of The main reason was the Hawks had to do further investigations when they obtained dossiers within the SIU.

“In essence, the investigations undertaken by the SIU don't satisfy felony standards for prosecutions.”

Consequently, the NPA had to operate with investigators within the DPCI (the Hawks) and SAPS to conduct prison investigations and make certain that the evidence satisfies legal prosecution standards, he claimed, including: “Having said that, the operate with the SIU is significant and contributes greatly to this process.”

De Kock reported that the SIU’s investigation “normally ends in multiple referrals. The referrals may in the long run lead to just one docket and 1 court case.”

He explained that 12 issues, that are “around 85% total”, were becoming jointly investigated with the Hawks along with the SIU’s Specialised Economic Operations Device. (A large number of conditions, seven of which were being lodged in 2020, entail previous NLC chief working officer Phillemon Letwaba, who resigned under a cloud in 2022, and Pretoria attorney Leslie Ramulifho.)

De Kock mentioned the NPA confronted several “challenges” in prosecuting situations. These, he said, incorporated

the lapse of time involving when the offences have been dedicated as well as the issuing with the Presidential Proclamation on one November 2020;
“unavailability of witnesses and/or documentary proof” (Previously this 12 months, the SIU told the committee that important paperwork necessary in some prosecutions had been deleted from the NLC Personal computer technique or had long gone missing from Metrofile, a warehouse exactly where copies of documents are archived and saved);
The truth that some implicated folks remain utilized by NLC; and
A obstacle into the legality from the Presidential Proclamation by previous NLC chairperson Alfred Nevhutanda.
“The NPA is dedicated to making certain finalisation in these issues. To this close, a crew of focused prosecutors is allocated to oversee all NLC issues currently beneath investigation,” de Kock claimed. “Issues are managed as a precedence. As soon as [the] investigations are finished, the NPA will make a call.”

What the businesses say (or don’t)
GroundUp was only in the position to get comment from on the list of 5 organizations accused from the SIU in Parliament of manufacturing fraudulent yearly financial statements,TTP Consulting.

Aubrey Moeng, considered one of TTP’s two directors, explained within an e-mail in reaction to questions: “Resulting from shopper confidentiality, we desire to recommend that TTP Consulting is not really willing to disclose customers’ monetary confidential details with the public or media … with no consent of your shopper or simply a authorized explanation.”

The business is actually a “spouse” of several point out entities, like SARS and also the CIPC, according to its Web-site.

Neither of the two administrators of Dzata Accountants, who will be the two listed as inactive within the CIPC sign up of businesses, responded to emailed inquiries. The company is deregistered via the CIPC for failing to post financial statements given that 2021.

The only director of Mageba Ntuli Buying and selling and Consulting Provider, Patrick Zulu, died 3 several years in the past, In line with official records. The company was deregistered by the CIPC for failing to post economic statements given that 2021.

Matamela Magodi, the sole director of Magodi Consultants, didn't respond to issues emailed to him.

GroundUp was unable to obtain any listing for Tafta Consulting and Accounting Expert services With all the CIPC. We were being also unable to trace any of the corporation’s directors to ask for remark.