The Distinctive Investigating Device has discovered 5 accounting firms that assisted loot Lottery cash. Graphic: Lisa Nelson

The Particular Investigating Unit has recognized 5 accounting and auditing corporations that helped non-profit companies loot Lottery funds meant for “fantastic will cause”.
The accounting corporations compiled fraudulent money statements employed by these companies to submit an application for Lottery funding, the SIU advised Parliament.
Performing chief nationwide investigations officer Zodwa Xesibe stated the SIU would take motion to get these corporations blacklisted.
A 4-yr probe through the ตรวจ สลากกินแบ่ง รัฐบาล Distinctive Investigating Unit (SIU) has exposed 5 accounting and auditing companies that assisted dodgy non-income corporations loot many hundreds of a lot of rands designed for “superior triggers” with the Lottery.

These corporations were described with the SIU as “professional enablers,” who “compiled fraudulent fiscal statements” which were utilized by the businesses to submit an application for Lottery funding.

The 5 companies had been named in Parliament because of the SIU’s acting chief national investigations officer Zodwa Xesibe. They are really TTP Consulting, Dzata Accountants, Magodi Consulting, Mageba Ntuli Consulting and Tafta Consulting and Accounting Providers.

Fraudulent financials made by these five accounting companies served virtually forty providers get their hands on lottery funding, based on the SIU presentation.

According to a Device that contains facts with all lottery grants since 2002, these companies bought over R314-million in funding.

“These NPCs were funded from the Countrywide Lotteries Fee (NLC) although the money were not used for his or her meant objective,” Xesibe told Parliament’s Trade, Field and Competition Portfolio Committee very last week.

The SIU, the Hawks and also the Countrywide Prosecuting Authority (NPA) ended up in Parliament to report to the committee on progress in bringing men and women and organisations involved in looting the lottery to e book.

Xesibe informed GroundUp which the SIU meant to lodge problems towards the accounting companies included and was checking if these firms had been registered and, In that case, with which Qualified bodies.

“We wish these providers to generally be blacklisted,” she explained to GroundUp.

To qualify for Lottery funding, an organisation was needed to generate two a long time of annual financial statements, Xesibe stated in Parliament.

However, being an ongoing 6-12 months investigation into lottery corruption by GroundUp has unveiled, hijacked non-financial gain organisations (NPOs) or new shelf non-income corporations (NPCs) without any economical observe documents were used to make an application for funding.

In a few scenarios, Nearly identical financial statements have been produced for unrelated organisations, usually with just the names with the organisations changed, GroundUp’s investigation located.

Paperwork submitted by real NPCs for unsuccessful grant apps had been typically employed by new or hijacked NPCs and NPOs to submit an application for funding. The main points and files of the unsuccessful applicants have been supplied by senior Lottery officers to the dodgy applicants.

With cursory or - generally - no verification, these dodgy applicants were being awarded countless rands in grants. Occasionally extra tranches of resources ended up compensated out devoid of Considerably checking within the progress of jobs.

The overwhelming majority of these grants were being created by way of proactive funding, which was at the center with the looting of the lottery. Proactive funding authorized the Minister of Trade, Market and Level of competition, or even the NLC along side its board, to detect leads to to fund without having 1st requiring an software. This was stopped any time a new NLC board was appointed.

R2-billion in grants less than investigation
SIU head Advocate Andy Mothibi reported the SIU was at the moment investigating grants valued at in excess of R2-billion, along with the unit was nevertheless frequently obtaining suggestion-offs about a lot more corruption.

He explained to MPs that the SIU’s investigation had been broken into three phases: the 1st, that has been finalised, probed dodgy grants amounting to R280-million, and the 2nd, also completed, associated R247-million. During the 3rd period, due to be finalised at the conclusion of the 12 months, the SIU is investigating grants valued at Practically R906-million, involving 40 NPOs and NPCs, Mothibi stated.

He stated which the SIU would implement “soon” with the Presidential Proclamation, originally granted in Oct 2020 to analyze corruption involving lottery grants, being extended to incorporate procurement from the NLC.

The SIU investigation experienced to this point resulted in thirteen disciplinary referrals towards the NLC, and administrative referrals to SARS and the Companies and Intellectual Houses Fee to blacklist folks implicated from the looting. Problems involving two people had been referred for the Authorized Practice Council as well as the SA Institute of Chartered Accountants.

The SIU experienced observed various traits underneath the previous NLC board and executive - many of whom happen to be implicated in looting - Mothibi advised MPs.

This integrated a “trend of collusion between NLC officers and NPOs and NPCs”, “the hijacking of NPOs and NPCs” and “typical maladministration in the acceptance of grants,” he stated.

Slow development from the NPA
The SIU has frozen homes, Houses, cars together with other assets value tens of hundreds of thousands that were purchased with lottery money, but MPs expressed problem at sluggish progress in prosecuting Those people involved in the looting. (The SIU is mandated only to Recuperate assets bought with stolen point out cash and doesn't have prosecuting powers).

Even though the SIU has referred 15 matters on the NPA, to date only two people have been introduced in advance of a courtroom. Two Guys appeared in court in Kimberley recently in reference to misappropriated money gathered for any project to battle gender-based mostly violence.

In August 2022 Christopher Tshivule was sentenced to 8 several years in jail for his component inside of a R1.5-million lottery grant fraud. Fees against two folks charged with him, who the SIU has referred to as “kingpins” in the corruption that overwhelmed the NLC, had been dropped.

Key-Typical Mmeli Makinyane, the acting divisional commissioner for precedence offences, informed MPs which the Hawks had been now investigating 16 lottery corruption-connected situations. One more just one - the Kimberley make any difference - is prior to a court and two are already sent into the NPA for a choice to prosecute. An extra five instances are increasingly being investigated through the SAPS detective and forensic services, he claimed.

Explaining the reasons for the hold off in prosecutions, NPA Deputy National Director Rodney de Kock said part of The rationale was that the Hawks had to do even further investigations once they acquired dossiers through the SIU.

“In essence, the investigations carried out because of the SIU do not fulfill prison specifications for prosecutions.”

Hence, the NPA experienced to operate with investigators during the DPCI (the Hawks) and SAPS to perform prison investigations and make certain that the evidence meets felony prosecution expectations, he mentioned, adding: “Having said that, the perform of the SIU is important and contributes considerably to this method.”

De Kock mentioned the SIU’s investigation “frequently ends in multiple referrals. The referrals may well ultimately lead to one particular docket and a person court docket circumstance.”

He reported that twelve issues, that are “around 85% full”, had been getting jointly investigated through the Hawks and also the SIU’s Specialised Financial Operations Unit. (A large number of scenarios, seven of which ended up lodged in 2020, include previous NLC chief running officer Phillemon Letwaba, who resigned under a cloud in 2022, and Pretoria attorney Leslie Ramulifho.)

De Kock said the NPA faced quite a few “problems” in prosecuting cases. These, he mentioned, involved

the lapse of your time between when the offences had been committed along with the issuing of your Presidential Proclamation on one November 2020;
“unavailability of witnesses and/or documentary proof” (Earlier this yr, the SIU instructed the committee that critical paperwork essential in a few prosecutions had been deleted from the NLC Pc system or experienced absent lacking from Metrofile, a warehouse wherever copies of documents are archived and saved);
The reality that some implicated persons are still utilized by NLC; and
A challenge into the legality with the Presidential Proclamation by previous NLC chairperson Alfred Nevhutanda.
“The NPA is devoted to making sure finalisation in these issues. To this stop, a workforce of dedicated prosecutors is allotted to supervise all NLC issues now less than investigation,” de Kock stated. “Matters are dealt with like a priority. When [the] investigations are accomplished, the NPA can make a decision.”

What the businesses say (or don’t)
GroundUp was only ready to get remark from among the list of five businesses accused from the SIU in Parliament of manufacturing fraudulent annual money statements,TTP Consulting.

Aubrey Moeng, considered one of TTP’s two directors, claimed in an e-mail in reaction to inquiries: “Because of consumer confidentiality, we need to advise that TTP Consulting will not be prepared to disclose customers’ economic private information and facts with the general public or media … with no consent of your shopper or a legal cause.”

The business is often a “lover” of various condition entities, like SARS along with the CIPC, In line with its Site.

Neither of the two administrators of Dzata Accountants, who are both of those shown as inactive within the CIPC sign up of firms, responded to emailed questions. The corporate is deregistered via the CIPC for failing to submit economic statements since 2021.

The sole director of Mageba Ntuli Trading and Consulting Provider, Patrick Zulu, died 3 yrs back, according to Formal documents. The corporation was deregistered by the CIPC for failing to post economical statements since 2021.

Matamela Magodi, the only real director of Magodi Consultants, did not reply to inquiries emailed to him.

GroundUp was unable to find any listing for Tafta Consulting and Accounting Products and services While using the CIPC. We have been also struggling to trace any of the business’s administrators to ask for comment.