The accountants who aided loot the Lottery

The accountants who aided loot the Lottery

Blog Article

The Specific Investigating Unit has determined 5 accounting corporations that served loot Lottery resources. Graphic: Lisa Nelson

The Unique Investigating Unit has determined 5 accounting and auditing companies that aided non-gain organizations loot Lottery income intended for “good results in”.
The accounting companies compiled fraudulent financial statements utilized by these companies 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 get these corporations blacklisted.
A 4-year probe with the hihuay Unique Investigating Unit (SIU) has uncovered five accounting and auditing companies that served dodgy non-earnings companies loot hundreds of countless rands meant for “good causes” from the Lottery.

These corporations have been explained because of the SIU as “Specialist enablers,” who “compiled fraudulent monetary statements” that were employed by the companies to apply for Lottery funding.

The 5 corporations had been named in Parliament from the SIU’s acting Main nationwide investigations officer Zodwa Xesibe. They are TTP Consulting, Dzata Accountants, Magodi Consulting, Mageba Ntuli Consulting and Tafta Consulting and Accounting Expert services.

Fraudulent financials made by these 5 accounting companies aided just about forty providers get their arms on lottery funding, in accordance with the SIU presentation.

Based upon a Instrument made up of facts with all lottery grants since 2002, these corporations acquired above R314-million in funding.

“These NPCs were funded via the National Lotteries Commission (NLC) but the cash weren't used for their intended reason,” Xesibe told Parliament’s Trade, Sector and Opposition Portfolio Committee very last 7 days.

The SIU, the Hawks and the Nationwide Prosecuting Authority (NPA) ended up in Parliament to report back to the committee on development in bringing persons and organisations involved with looting the lottery to e book.

Xesibe advised GroundUp that the SIU meant to lodge issues towards the accounting firms included and was examining if these firms were registered and, If that is so, with which Specialist bodies.

“We wish these organizations being blacklisted,” she advised GroundUp.

To qualify for Lottery funding, an organisation was necessary to develop two years of annual monetary statements, Xesibe defined in Parliament.

Even so, being an ongoing 6-yr investigation into lottery corruption by GroundUp has uncovered, hijacked non-income organisations (NPOs) or new shelf non-revenue businesses (NPCs) with no financial keep track of information were utilized to make an application for funding.

In some occasions, Virtually equivalent economic statements were being made for unrelated organisations, often with only the names of your organisations altered, GroundUp’s investigation observed.

Files submitted by authentic NPCs for unsuccessful grant apps ended up normally employed by new or hijacked NPCs and NPOs to submit an application for funding. The main points and paperwork in the unsuccessful applicants had been equipped by senior Lottery officers for the dodgy applicants.

With cursory or - frequently - no verification, these dodgy applicants were awarded millions of rands in grants. In some cases supplemental tranches of money were being paid out out without Substantially checking about the development of tasks.

The overwhelming majority of such grants were manufactured by using proactive funding, which was at the heart on the looting with the lottery. Proactive funding authorized the Minister of Trade, Industry and Levels of competition, or maybe the NLC at the side of its board, to identify causes to fund with out first demanding an application. This was stopped whenever a new NLC board was appointed.

R2-billion in grants below investigation
SIU head Advocate Andy Mothibi said the SIU was now investigating grants valued at in excess of R2-billion, and also the device was even now frequently obtaining idea-offs about a lot more corruption.

He explained to MPs that the SIU’s investigation had been broken into 3 phases: the first, which has been finalised, probed dodgy grants amounting to R280-million, and the second, also concluded, involved R247-million. While in the 3rd section, resulting from be finalised at the conclusion of the calendar year, the SIU is investigating grants valued at Virtually R906-million, involving 40 NPOs and NPCs, Mothibi stated.

He mentioned that the SIU would apply “soon” to the Presidential Proclamation, initially granted in October 2020 to analyze corruption involving lottery grants, to become prolonged to incorporate procurement because of the NLC.

The SIU investigation had so far triggered 13 disciplinary referrals to the NLC, and administrative referrals to SARS and the businesses and Mental Homes Fee to blacklist folks implicated in the looting. Issues involving two individuals had been referred to your Legal Follow Council as well as SA Institute of Chartered Accountants.

The SIU experienced noticed several trends under the prior NLC board and executive - a lot of whom are already implicated in looting - Mothibi advised MPs.

This provided a “pattern of collusion among NLC officials and NPOs and NPCs”, “the hijacking of NPOs and NPCs” and “general maladministration in the acceptance of grants,” he mentioned.

Slow development from the NPA
The SIU has frozen homes, Houses, vehicles and other property really worth tens of tens of millions that were purchased with lottery resources, but MPs expressed concern at sluggish progress in prosecuting Those people involved in the looting. (The SIU is mandated only to Recuperate property purchased with stolen condition cash and doesn't have prosecuting powers).

When the SIU has referred fifteen issues to your NPA, to this point only two folks have been introduced right before a court docket. Two Adult men appeared in courtroom in Kimberley not long ago in connection with misappropriated funds gathered for your task to fight gender-based violence.

In August 2022 Christopher Tshivule was sentenced to 8 a long time in jail for his portion inside a R1.five-million lottery grant fraud. Expenses against two people today charged with him, who the SIU has described as “kingpins” from the corruption that overwhelmed the NLC, ended up dropped.

Main-Common Mmeli Makinyane, the acting divisional commissioner for precedence offences, told MPs the Hawks were at the moment investigating sixteen lottery corruption-similar cases. Yet another just one - the Kimberley make any difference - is just before a court and two are already despatched into the NPA for a call to prosecute. An extra 5 cases are increasingly being investigated by the SAPS detective and forensic providers, he claimed.

Outlining The explanations to the delay in prosecutions, NPA Deputy National Director Rodney de Kock said Element of The explanation was that the Hawks needed to do even further investigations if they gained dossiers in the SIU.

“In essence, the investigations carried out through the SIU do not satisfy legal standards for prosecutions.”

As a result, the NPA experienced to work with investigators while in the DPCI (the Hawks) and SAPS to conduct legal investigations and make sure the proof fulfills legal prosecution criteria, he claimed, incorporating: “Having said that, the perform in the SIU is very important and contributes significantly to this method.”

De Kock mentioned which the SIU’s investigation “typically results in a number of referrals. The referrals may in the long run end in 1 docket and a person courtroom circumstance.”

He claimed that twelve matters, which might be “approximately 85% entire”, were currently being jointly investigated by the Hawks as well as SIU’s Specialised Financial Functions Unit. (These types of instances, seven of which had been lodged in 2020, entail former NLC Main running officer Phillemon Letwaba, who resigned beneath a cloud in 2022, and Pretoria lawyer Leslie Ramulifho.)

De Kock reported the NPA faced several “worries” in prosecuting situations. These, he said, involved

the lapse of your time among when the offences have been fully commited as well as the issuing with the Presidential Proclamation on one November 2020;
“unavailability of witnesses and/or documentary evidence” (Previously this calendar year, the SIU told the committee that essential paperwork wanted in certain prosecutions were deleted within the NLC computer method or experienced long gone missing from Metrofile, a warehouse the place copies of paperwork are archived and stored);
The truth that some implicated individuals are still employed by NLC; and
A challenge to the legality of your Presidential Proclamation by previous NLC chairperson Alfred Nevhutanda.
“The NPA is committed to ensuring finalisation in these matters. To this finish, a workforce of devoted prosecutors has long been allotted to supervise all NLC matters now underneath investigation,” de Kock stated. “Issues are handled being a precedence. As soon as [the] investigations are concluded, the NPA could make a decision.”

What the companies say (or don’t)
GroundUp was only ready to get remark from one of several 5 companies accused through the SIU in Parliament of producing fraudulent yearly economic statements,TTP Consulting.

Aubrey Moeng, considered one of TTP’s two administrators, claimed within an e mail in response to inquiries: “Resulting from customer confidentiality, we desire to recommend that TTP Consulting will not be willing to disclose customers’ financial confidential information and facts with the public or media … with no consent from the customer or a authorized rationale.”

The business is usually a “companion” of numerous condition entities, together with SARS and the CIPC, In line with its Internet site.

Neither of The 2 directors of Dzata Accountants, who are each outlined as inactive on the CIPC sign up of providers, responded to emailed issues. The business is deregistered from the CIPC for failing to post monetary statements since 2021.

The only director of Mageba Ntuli Investing and Consulting Support, Patrick Zulu, died 3 many years in the past, according to official information. The corporate was deregistered by the CIPC for failing to submit economic statements due to the fact 2021.

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

GroundUp was not able to uncover any listing for Tafta Consulting and Accounting Expert services While using the CIPC. We were being also struggling to trace any of the corporate’s directors to request comment.

https://javorka.online
https://ufabetsea.online
https://ufabetwine.online
https://ufabetsc.online
https://ufabethunter.online
https://ufawinbet.site
https://sagaming99.site
https://sagaming93.online
https://sagaming92.online
https://sagaming91.online
https://sagaming90.online
https://javbom.online
https://javcanna.online
https://javmini.online
https://javoops.online
https://javhubs.online
https://javep.online
https://javzooms.online
https://javporns.online
https://javbros.online
https://sagamings.online
https://huaylnw.shop
https://huayka.shop
https://huaynaja.shop
https://huay1.site
https://huay2.site
https://huay3.site
https://huay4.site
https://huay5.site
https://huay6.site
https://edeltanet.com