The accountants who assisted loot the Lottery

The accountants who assisted loot the Lottery

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The Exclusive Investigating Unit has discovered five accounting corporations that assisted loot Lottery cash. Graphic: Lisa Nelson

The Unique Investigating Unit has discovered 5 accounting and auditing firms that helped non-income organizations loot Lottery revenue intended for “very good causes”.
The accounting firms compiled fraudulent economic statements utilized by these corporations to submit an application for Lottery funding, the SIU told Parliament.
Performing Main nationwide investigations officer Zodwa Xesibe claimed the SIU would acquire motion to own these firms blacklisted.
A 4-12 months probe because of the ตรวจ หวย ลาว วัน นี้ Specific Investigating Unit (SIU) has exposed five accounting and auditing firms that assisted dodgy non-earnings firms loot many many rands designed for “fantastic will cause” with the Lottery.

These companies were explained with the SIU as “Skilled enablers,” who “compiled fraudulent monetary statements” which were used by the companies to submit an application for Lottery funding.

The five providers have been named in Parliament by the SIU’s acting Main countrywide investigations officer Zodwa Xesibe. They're TTP Consulting, Dzata Accountants, Magodi Consulting, Mageba Ntuli Consulting and Tafta Consulting and Accounting Products and services.

Fraudulent financials made by these 5 accounting corporations helped practically 40 firms get their palms on lottery funding, in accordance with the SIU presentation.

Dependant on a tool made up of data with all lottery grants because 2002, these businesses got over R314-million in funding.

“These NPCs were being funded because of the National Lotteries Fee (NLC) even so the funds weren't utilized for his or her intended reason,” Xesibe informed Parliament’s Trade, Field and Levels of competition Portfolio Committee last week.

The SIU, the Hawks as well as National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) had been in Parliament to report to the committee on progress in bringing people today and organisations involved in looting the lottery to guide.

Xesibe advised GroundUp the SIU intended to lodge grievances in opposition to the accounting companies concerned and was checking if these corporations were being registered and, If that's so, with which professional bodies.

“We wish these corporations to get blacklisted,” she advised GroundUp.

To qualify for Lottery funding, an organisation was required to deliver two several years of annual economical statements, Xesibe discussed in Parliament.

Nonetheless, as an ongoing six-12 months investigation into lottery corruption by GroundUp has discovered, hijacked non-revenue organisations (NPOs) or new shelf non-earnings businesses (NPCs) with no fiscal track data had been utilized to apply for funding.

In a few scenarios, Practically equivalent economical statements were being produced for unrelated organisations, usually with only the names on the organisations adjusted, GroundUp’s investigation observed.

Files submitted by genuine NPCs for unsuccessful grant programs had been frequently used by new or hijacked NPCs and NPOs to submit an application for funding. The small print and documents of the unsuccessful applicants were being equipped by senior Lottery officers for the dodgy applicants.

With cursory or - normally - no verification, these dodgy applicants ended up awarded numerous rands in grants. At times added tranches of funds had been compensated out devoid of much checking over the progress of tasks.

The overwhelming majority of such grants ended up built via proactive funding, which was at the heart of the looting of your lottery. Proactive funding permitted the Minister of Trade, Market and Levels of competition, or even the NLC in conjunction with its board, to establish triggers to fund without 1st demanding an software. This was stopped whenever a new NLC board was appointed.

R2-billion in grants underneath investigation
SIU head Advocate Andy Mothibi reported the SIU was at present investigating grants valued at in excess of R2-billion, as well as device was still routinely getting tip-offs about a lot more corruption.

He advised MPs that the SIU’s investigation were damaged into 3 phases: the initial, which has been finalised, probed dodgy grants amounting to R280-million, and the 2nd, also concluded, concerned R247-million. Within the 3rd stage, because of be finalised at the conclusion of the yr, the SIU is investigating grants valued at almost R906-million, involving forty NPOs and NPCs, Mothibi said.

He explained that the SIU would use “before long” for your Presidential Proclamation, initially granted in Oct 2020 to investigate corruption involving lottery grants, for being prolonged to incorporate procurement by the NLC.

The SIU investigation had up to now resulted in 13 disciplinary referrals on the NLC, and administrative referrals to SARS and the businesses and Mental Houses Fee to blacklist persons implicated from the looting. Issues involving two persons were referred on the Legal Practice Council and the SA Institute of Chartered Accountants.

The SIU experienced observed several traits beneath the previous NLC board and govt - many of whom have been implicated in looting - Mothibi instructed MPs.

This integrated a “development of collusion among NLC officers and NPOs and NPCs”, “the hijacking of NPOs and NPCs” and “general maladministration while in the acceptance of grants,” he said.

Slow progress with the NPA
The SIU has frozen households, properties, vehicles together with other belongings truly worth tens of tens of millions which were purchased with lottery money, but MPs expressed problem at slow development in prosecuting those linked to the looting. (The SIU is mandated only to Get well property bought with stolen point out money and does not have prosecuting powers).

Though the SIU has referred 15 issues on the NPA, up to now only two folks have been brought right before a courtroom. Two men appeared in courtroom in Kimberley lately in reference to misappropriated resources collected for the project to fight gender-dependent violence.

In August 2022 Christopher Tshivule was sentenced to 8 years in prison for his portion in a very R1.five-million lottery grant fraud. Charges against two folks charged with him, who the SIU has described as “kingpins” inside the corruption that overwhelmed the NLC, were dropped.

Major-General Mmeli Makinyane, the performing divisional commissioner for precedence offences, informed MPs that the Hawks were being at this time investigating 16 lottery corruption-associated cases. A further one particular - the Kimberley make a difference - is before a courtroom and two have been sent into the NPA for a decision to prosecute. An additional 5 instances are now being investigated via the SAPS detective and forensic providers, he claimed.

Conveying The explanations for the delay in prosecutions, NPA Deputy National Director Rodney de Kock stated Portion of The rationale was the Hawks had to do additional investigations once they received dossiers from the SIU.

“In essence, the investigations carried out because of the SIU tend not to satisfy felony expectations for prosecutions.”

As a result, the NPA experienced to work with investigators during the DPCI (the Hawks) and SAPS to carry out prison investigations and be certain that the proof meets legal prosecution benchmarks, he mentioned, introducing: “Having said that, the perform on the SIU is essential and contributes drastically to this method.”

De Kock explained the SIU’s investigation “normally brings about various referrals. The referrals may ultimately result in one docket and one court docket scenario.”

He explained that 12 issues, which might be “about 85% entire”, have been becoming jointly investigated by the Hawks as well as SIU’s Specialised Economic Functions Device. (The majority of these cases, seven of which have been lodged in 2020, contain former NLC chief running officer Phillemon Letwaba, who resigned less than a cloud in 2022, and Pretoria lawyer Leslie Ramulifho.)

De Kock stated the NPA faced many “worries” in prosecuting cases. These, he stated, incorporated

the lapse of time in between when the offences were committed and the issuing of your Presidential Proclamation on one November 2020;
“unavailability of witnesses and/or documentary evidence” (Before this 12 months, the SIU informed the committee that important files essential in some prosecutions had been deleted in the NLC Computer system method or had absent missing from Metrofile, a warehouse wherever copies of files are archived and saved);
The point that some implicated individuals remain used by NLC; and
A obstacle into the legality of the Presidential Proclamation by previous NLC chairperson Alfred Nevhutanda.
“The NPA is dedicated to guaranteeing finalisation in these matters. To this finish, a team of focused prosecutors has long been allotted to oversee all NLC issues at the moment below investigation,” de Kock said. “Issues are handled to be a priority. At the time [the] investigations are accomplished, the NPA will make a choice.”

What the businesses say (or don’t)
GroundUp was only capable of get remark from among the five providers accused through the SIU in Parliament of manufacturing fraudulent yearly economical statements,TTP Consulting.

Aubrey Moeng, among TTP’s two directors, explained within an e mail in response to inquiries: “As a consequence of shopper confidentiality, we need to recommend that TTP Consulting will not be ready to divulge customers’ monetary private information and facts with the public or media … without the consent of your customer or even a legal motive.”

The business is really a “husband or wife” of many point out entities, like SARS and also the CIPC, In keeping with its Site.

Neither of The 2 administrators of Dzata Accountants, who will be the two stated as inactive on the CIPC register of organizations, responded to emailed inquiries. The corporation has been deregistered from the CIPC for failing to submit financial statements because 2021.

The sole director of Mageba Ntuli Investing and Consulting Assistance, Patrick Zulu, died 3 a long time ago, according to Formal information. The company was deregistered via the CIPC for failing to submit financial statements due to the fact 2021.

Matamela Magodi, the sole director of Magodi Consultants, didn't reply to queries emailed to him.

GroundUp was struggling to discover any listing for Tafta Consulting and Accounting Products and services Together with the CIPC. We were being also unable to trace any of the business’s directors to ask for remark.