The Particular Investigating Unit has discovered five accounting corporations that aided loot Lottery funds. Graphic: Lisa Nelson

The Distinctive Investigating Unit has discovered five accounting and auditing firms that served non-income businesses loot Lottery dollars meant for “superior causes”.
The accounting corporations compiled fraudulent money statements utilized by these businesses to make an application for Lottery funding, the SIU informed Parliament.
Performing Main nationwide investigations officer Zodwa Xesibe reported the SIU would just take motion to own these firms blacklisted.
A four-12 months probe by the ตรวจ สลากกินแบ่ง รัฐบาล Particular Investigating Unit (SIU) has uncovered 5 accounting and auditing firms that aided dodgy non-revenue companies loot numerous countless rands designed for “excellent leads to” with the Lottery.

These corporations had been described through the SIU as “Skilled enablers,” who “compiled fraudulent economic statements” that were employed by the companies to submit an application for Lottery funding.

The five companies ended up named in Parliament from the SIU’s acting Main national investigations officer Zodwa Xesibe. They are TTP Consulting, Dzata Accountants, Magodi Consulting, Mageba Ntuli Consulting and Tafta Consulting and Accounting Services.

Fraudulent financials made by these 5 accounting companies assisted just about 40 companies get their palms on lottery funding, in accordance with the SIU presentation.

Determined by a tool that contains facts with all lottery grants considering the fact that 2002, these firms bought more than R314-million in funding.

“These NPCs ended up funded via the National Lotteries Fee (NLC) however the cash were not employed for their supposed intent,” Xesibe explained to Parliament’s Trade, Field and Level of competition Portfolio Committee previous 7 days.

The SIU, the Hawks plus the Countrywide Prosecuting Authority (NPA) have been in Parliament to report back to the committee on progress in bringing folks and organisations associated with looting the lottery to book.

Xesibe explained to GroundUp the SIU meant to lodge issues towards the accounting companies associated and was checking if these companies were being registered and, In that case, with which professional bodies.

“We want these companies for being blacklisted,” she told GroundUp.

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

On the other hand, as an ongoing 6-year investigation into lottery corruption by GroundUp has uncovered, hijacked non-profit organisations (NPOs) or new shelf non-profit businesses (NPCs) with no fiscal track data have been utilized to apply for funding.

In certain circumstances, Nearly equivalent economic statements were being developed for unrelated organisations, often with only the names of your organisations transformed, GroundUp’s investigation uncovered.

Documents submitted by real NPCs for unsuccessful grant purposes have been usually utilized by new or hijacked NPCs and NPOs to submit an application for funding. The details and documents with the unsuccessful applicants were being supplied by senior Lottery officers to the dodgy applicants.

With cursory or - typically - no verification, these dodgy applicants ended up awarded countless rands in grants. From time to time supplemental tranches of cash ended up paid out out with no Substantially checking around the development of assignments.

The vast majority of such grants have been created via proactive funding, which was at the center of the looting of your lottery. Proactive funding allowed the Minister of Trade, Marketplace and Level of competition, or even the NLC at the side of its board, to identify causes to fund without having very first demanding an software. This was stopped each time a new NLC board was appointed.

R2-billion in grants underneath investigation
SIU head Advocate Andy Mothibi claimed the SIU was at this time investigating grants valued at in excess of R2-billion, as well as the device was still on a regular basis getting suggestion-offs about extra corruption.

He advised MPs which the SIU’s investigation were damaged into a few phases: the primary, which has been finalised, probed dodgy grants amounting to R280-million, and the 2nd, also completed, concerned R247-million. From the third phase, as a consequence of be finalised at the end of the yr, the SIU is investigating grants valued at Practically R906-million, involving 40 NPOs and NPCs, Mothibi mentioned.

He explained the SIU would use “before long” for the Presidential Proclamation, at first granted in October 2020 to analyze corruption involving lottery grants, being extended to incorporate procurement through the NLC.

The SIU investigation experienced to date led to thirteen disciplinary referrals for the NLC, and administrative referrals to SARS and the businesses and Mental Qualities Commission to blacklist people today implicated within the looting. Grievances involving two men and women were referred into the Authorized Exercise Council and the SA Institute of Chartered Accountants.

The SIU experienced noticed quite a few tendencies beneath the earlier NLC board and executive - many of whom have been implicated in looting - Mothibi explained to MPs.

This involved a “pattern of collusion in between NLC officers and NPOs and NPCs”, “the hijacking of NPOs and NPCs” and “basic maladministration in the approval of grants,” he reported.

Slow progress via the NPA
The SIU has frozen properties, Attributes, vehicles along with other property truly worth tens of hundreds of thousands that were purchased with lottery cash, but MPs expressed issue at gradual development in prosecuting those involved in the looting. (The SIU is mandated only to Recuperate assets bought with stolen state resources and doesn't have prosecuting powers).

When the SIU has referred fifteen matters towards the NPA, up to now only two people have been introduced right before a court docket. Two Adult men appeared in courtroom in Kimberley not too long ago in reference to misappropriated resources collected for any project to beat gender-based mostly violence.

In August 2022 Christopher Tshivule was sentenced to 8 several years in jail for his aspect in a R1.5-million lottery grant fraud. Costs versus two men and women billed with him, who the SIU has described as “kingpins” while in the corruption that overcome the NLC, were being dropped.

Significant-Basic Mmeli Makinyane, the acting divisional commissioner for priority offences, advised MPs the Hawks ended up at this time investigating sixteen lottery corruption-related circumstances. One more a person - the Kimberley subject - is ahead of a courtroom and two have already been sent to the NPA for a call to prosecute. A further 5 scenarios are now being investigated by the SAPS detective and forensic products and services, he explained.

Explaining the reasons for that delay in prosecutions, NPA Deputy National Director Rodney de Kock explained part of The explanation was the Hawks needed to do additional investigations if they been given dossiers in the SIU.

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

As a result, the NPA had to operate with investigators from the DPCI (the Hawks) and SAPS to carry out criminal investigations and make sure that the proof meets prison prosecution expectations, he explained, adding: “That said, the work with the SIU is very important and contributes greatly to this method.”

De Kock said that the SIU’s investigation “normally leads to many referrals. The referrals may eventually end in a person docket and one court docket circumstance.”

He reported that twelve matters, which happen to be “roughly 85% full”, had been becoming jointly investigated by the Hawks and the SIU’s Specialised Financial Functions Unit. (Many of these cases, 7 of which have been lodged in 2020, contain former NLC Main working officer Phillemon Letwaba, who resigned under a cloud in 2022, and Pretoria attorney Leslie Ramulifho.)

De Kock reported the NPA faced quite a few “issues” in prosecuting instances. These, he reported, provided

the lapse of your time involving once the offences ended up fully commited plus the issuing from the Presidential Proclamation on 1 November 2020;
“unavailability of witnesses and/or documentary proof” (Before this calendar year, the SIU informed the committee that critical documents required in certain prosecutions were deleted in the NLC Laptop technique or had gone lacking from Metrofile, a warehouse where by copies of documents are archived and saved);
The point that some implicated people remain utilized by NLC; and
A problem for the legality from the Presidential Proclamation by previous NLC chairperson Alfred Nevhutanda.
“The NPA is committed to making sure finalisation in these matters. To this finish, a workforce of devoted prosecutors has actually been allocated to oversee all NLC matters currently underneath investigation,” de Kock said. “Matters are dealt with to be a priority. At the time [the] investigations are concluded, the NPA will make a choice.”

What the businesses say (or don’t)
GroundUp was only in a position to get comment from one of the five corporations accused via the SIU in Parliament of manufacturing fraudulent yearly fiscal statements,TTP Consulting.

Aubrey Moeng, one among TTP’s two administrators, claimed in an electronic mail in response to questions: “As a consequence of consumer confidentiality, we want to suggest that TTP Consulting is not really willing to divulge shoppers’ financial confidential facts with the general public or media … with no consent from the consumer or maybe a lawful cause.”

The corporation is a “companion” of a number of point out entities, such as SARS as well as the CIPC, In accordance with its Site.

Neither of the two directors of Dzata Accountants, who are both of those stated as inactive within the CIPC sign up of businesses, responded to emailed issues. The organization continues to be deregistered via the CIPC for failing to submit economic statements since 2021.

The sole director of Mageba Ntuli Investing and Consulting Assistance, Patrick Zulu, died a few many years ago, In keeping with Formal data. The corporate was deregistered because of the CIPC for failing to submit economic statements considering that 2021.

Matamela Magodi, the only director of Magodi Consultants, didn't reply to questions emailed to him.

GroundUp was struggling to locate any listing for Tafta Consulting and Accounting Products and services While using the CIPC. We ended up also unable to trace any of the corporation’s directors to request comment.