The Exclusive Investigating Unit has determined five accounting companies that helped loot Lottery resources. Graphic: Lisa Nelson

The Distinctive Investigating Device has recognized 5 accounting and auditing firms that aided non-financial gain corporations loot Lottery income intended for “fantastic leads to”.
The accounting companies compiled fraudulent economical statements used by these organizations to make an application for Lottery funding, the SIU instructed Parliament.
Performing Main nationwide investigations officer Zodwa Xesibe mentioned the SIU would get action to have these corporations blacklisted.
A 4-12 months probe with the หวย ลาว ล่าสุด Exclusive Investigating Device (SIU) has exposed five accounting and auditing companies that assisted dodgy non-financial gain organizations loot many many rands designed for “excellent brings about” through the Lottery.

These firms had been explained with the SIU as “Expert enablers,” who “compiled fraudulent economic statements” that were used by the businesses to apply for Lottery funding.

The 5 companies have been named in Parliament because of the SIU’s acting Main national investigations officer Zodwa Xesibe. They may be TTP Consulting, Dzata Accountants, Magodi Consulting, Mageba Ntuli Consulting and Tafta Consulting and Accounting Solutions.

Fraudulent financials produced by these 5 accounting corporations helped nearly 40 firms get their arms on lottery funding, based on the SIU presentation.

Based upon a tool that contains facts with all lottery grants considering that 2002, these firms bought around R314-million in funding.

“These NPCs were being funded because of the Nationwide Lotteries Fee (NLC) although the cash were not utilized for his or her supposed reason,” Xesibe advised Parliament’s Trade, Sector and Level of competition Portfolio Committee very last week.

The SIU, the Hawks and the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) were being in Parliament to report to the committee on progress in bringing people today and organisations linked to looting the lottery to ebook.

Xesibe explained to GroundUp that the SIU meant to lodge issues towards the accounting companies included and was checking if these companies ended up registered and, In that case, with which Experienced bodies.

“We want these companies being blacklisted,” she explained to GroundUp.

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

Nevertheless, as an ongoing six-yr investigation into lottery corruption by GroundUp has disclosed, hijacked non-profit organisations (NPOs) or new shelf non-revenue businesses (NPCs) with no money track data were utilized to submit an application for funding.

In some cases, Virtually equivalent economic statements were being produced for unrelated organisations, generally with just the names in the organisations transformed, GroundUp’s investigation observed.

Files submitted by genuine NPCs for unsuccessful grant applications were being generally used by new or hijacked NPCs and NPOs to submit an application for funding. The main points and documents of your unsuccessful applicants ended up supplied by senior Lottery officials to the dodgy applicants.

With cursory or - generally - no verification, these dodgy applicants had been awarded millions of rands in grants. Often additional tranches of funds have been compensated out without Considerably examining to the development of jobs.

The vast majority of these grants had been made via proactive funding, which was at the guts on the looting from the lottery. Proactive funding authorized the Minister of Trade, Sector and Levels of competition, or even the NLC in conjunction with its board, to establish leads to to fund without the need of very first necessitating an software. This was stopped when a new NLC board was appointed.

R2-billion in grants below investigation
SIU head Advocate Andy Mothibi claimed the SIU was currently investigating grants valued at above R2-billion, plus the device was however regularly acquiring idea-offs about extra corruption.

He explained to MPs the SIU’s investigation had been broken into a few phases: the 1st, which has been finalised, probed dodgy grants amounting to R280-million, and the second, also done, included R247-million. Inside the 3rd stage, as a result of be finalised at the conclusion of the yr, the SIU is investigating grants valued at almost R906-million, involving 40 NPOs and NPCs, Mothibi said.

He explained which the SIU would apply “shortly” for the Presidential Proclamation, initially granted in Oct 2020 to analyze corruption involving lottery grants, to become extended to include procurement because of the NLC.

The SIU investigation experienced to this point triggered thirteen disciplinary referrals towards the NLC, and administrative referrals to SARS and the Companies and Intellectual Properties Fee to blacklist people today implicated in the looting. Problems involving two people were referred on the Authorized Apply Council and also the SA Institute of Chartered Accountants.

The SIU experienced observed a number of traits beneath the prior NLC board and govt - a lot of whom have been implicated in looting - Mothibi instructed MPs.

This integrated a “craze of collusion between NLC officials and NPOs and NPCs”, “the hijacking of NPOs and NPCs” and “normal maladministration inside the approval of grants,” he claimed.

Gradual progress through the NPA
The SIU has frozen residences, Attributes, cars and also other property worthy of tens of tens of millions which were purchased with lottery money, but MPs expressed concern at gradual development in prosecuting All those involved with the looting. (The SIU is mandated only to Recuperate belongings purchased with stolen state resources and does not have prosecuting powers).

While the SIU has referred fifteen matters into the NPA, thus far only two people have been introduced just before a court docket. Two Guys appeared in court docket in Kimberley not too long ago in reference to misappropriated funds collected for your venture to overcome gender-centered violence.

In August 2022 Christopher Tshivule was sentenced to eight a long time in prison for his aspect in a R1.5-million lottery grant fraud. Costs in opposition to two persons billed with him, who the SIU has referred to as “kingpins” while in the corruption that overcome the NLC, have been dropped.

Key-Basic Mmeli Makinyane, the acting divisional commissioner for precedence offences, instructed MPs the Hawks had been currently investigating sixteen lottery corruption-relevant circumstances. Another a person - the Kimberley subject - is prior to a court docket and two have already been despatched to the NPA for a choice to prosecute. An extra 5 circumstances are increasingly being investigated by the SAPS detective and forensic companies, he reported.

Describing the reasons to the delay in prosecutions, NPA Deputy Nationwide Director Rodney de Kock explained Component of The key reason why was which the Hawks needed to do even further investigations if they gained dossiers with the SIU.

“In essence, the investigations undertaken from the SIU do not fulfill legal requirements for prosecutions.”

Hence, the NPA had to work with investigators while in the DPCI (the Hawks) and SAPS to carry out felony investigations and make sure the proof satisfies felony prosecution criteria, he explained, adding: “Having said that, the get the job done in the SIU is important and contributes considerably to this method.”

De Kock explained which the SIU’s investigation “usually results in a number of referrals. The referrals could eventually bring about 1 docket and a single court case.”

He stated that twelve issues, which happen to be “somewhere around eighty five% entire”, were being being jointly investigated by the Hawks and the SIU’s Specialised Financial Operations Device. (The majority of these circumstances, 7 of which had been lodged in 2020, contain former NLC Main operating officer Phillemon Letwaba, who resigned under a cloud in 2022, and Pretoria attorney Leslie Ramulifho.)

De Kock said the NPA faced various “difficulties” in prosecuting cases. These, he mentioned, involved

the lapse of your time in between if the offences were being committed as well as issuing in the Presidential Proclamation on 1 November 2020;
“unavailability of witnesses and/or documentary evidence” (Earlier this year, the SIU told the committee that important files necessary in some prosecutions were deleted with the NLC Computer system technique or had long gone missing from Metrofile, a warehouse wherever copies of documents are archived and saved);
The truth that some implicated individuals are still used by NLC; and
A challenge into the legality in the Presidential Proclamation by previous NLC chairperson Alfred Nevhutanda.
“The NPA is dedicated to ensuring finalisation in these matters. To this conclusion, a group of committed prosecutors continues to be allocated to supervise all NLC issues at this time less than investigation,” de Kock said. “Issues are taken care of to be a precedence. The moment [the] investigations are concluded, the NPA can make a choice.”

What the companies say (or don’t)
GroundUp was only capable to get comment from one of many 5 corporations accused because of the SIU in Parliament of manufacturing fraudulent annual economical statements,TTP Consulting.

Aubrey Moeng, considered one of TTP’s two directors, explained in an e mail in response to issues: “On account of shopper confidentiality, we desire to suggest that TTP Consulting isn't ready to divulge customers’ economical confidential information and facts with the general public or media … with no consent of the client or even a authorized cause.”

The business can be a “associate” of various condition entities, like SARS along with the CIPC, In line with its Site.

Neither of The 2 directors of Dzata Accountants, that are the two outlined as inactive within the CIPC sign up of organizations, responded to emailed questions. The business has long been deregistered through the CIPC for failing to submit fiscal statements since 2021.

The only director of Mageba Ntuli Buying and selling and Consulting Provider, Patrick Zulu, died 3 yrs back, In keeping with Formal documents. The corporation was deregistered by the CIPC for failing to post monetary statements considering that 2021.

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

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