The Specific Investigating Device has identified 5 accounting corporations that aided loot Lottery money. Graphic: Lisa Nelson

The Unique Investigating Device has recognized 5 accounting and auditing firms that aided non-earnings companies loot Lottery dollars intended for “fantastic leads to”.
The accounting companies compiled fraudulent economic statements utilized by these providers to apply for Lottery funding, the SIU informed Parliament.
Acting chief nationwide investigations officer Zodwa Xesibe explained the SIU would take motion to acquire these firms blacklisted.
A four-calendar year probe by the หวย ไทยรัฐ Unique Investigating Device (SIU) has exposed five accounting and auditing companies that aided dodgy non-earnings corporations loot numerous countless rands designed for “very good leads to” through the Lottery.

These firms ended up described through the SIU as “Specialist enablers,” who “compiled fraudulent fiscal statements” which were employed by the companies to make an application for Lottery funding.

The five firms ended up named in Parliament because of the SIU’s performing chief countrywide investigations officer Zodwa Xesibe. They can be TTP Consulting, Dzata Accountants, Magodi Consulting, Mageba Ntuli Consulting and Tafta Consulting and Accounting Expert services.

Fraudulent financials made by these 5 accounting firms assisted just about forty businesses get their fingers on lottery funding, in accordance with the SIU presentation.

Based upon a Device containing details with all lottery grants given that 2002, these corporations acquired above R314-million in funding.

“These NPCs ended up funded by the Nationwide Lotteries Commission (NLC) however the cash weren't employed for their meant purpose,” Xesibe advised Parliament’s Trade, Market and Level of competition Portfolio Committee very last week.

The SIU, the Hawks as well as Countrywide Prosecuting Authority (NPA) ended up in Parliament to report to the committee on progress in bringing folks and organisations involved with looting the lottery to ebook.

Xesibe advised GroundUp which the SIU intended to lodge problems towards the accounting corporations concerned and was examining if these corporations have been registered and, If that is so, with which professional bodies.

“We would like these companies being blacklisted,” she advised GroundUp.

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

However, as an ongoing 6-year investigation into lottery corruption by GroundUp has unveiled, hijacked non-financial gain organisations (NPOs) or new shelf non-financial gain corporations (NPCs) without economic track information ended up accustomed to make an application for funding.

In certain occasions, Virtually equivalent economical statements were being manufactured for unrelated organisations, often with just the names on the organisations adjusted, GroundUp’s investigation found.

Documents submitted by authentic NPCs for unsuccessful grant apps had been frequently utilized by new or hijacked NPCs and NPOs to make an application for funding. The main points and paperwork of your unsuccessful applicants were equipped by senior Lottery officers on the dodgy applicants.

With cursory or - normally - no verification, these dodgy applicants ended up awarded numerous rands in grants. In some cases more tranches of funds were being paid out without Substantially checking around the progress of projects.

The overwhelming majority of such grants have been made by using proactive funding, which was at the heart of your looting in the lottery. Proactive funding permitted the Minister of Trade, Business and Level of competition, or maybe the NLC together with its board, to determine brings about to fund with no very first demanding an application. This was stopped whenever a new NLC board was appointed.

R2-billion in grants under investigation
SIU head Advocate Andy Mothibi said the SIU was currently investigating grants valued at more than R2-billion, and the device was nevertheless frequently receiving suggestion-offs about much more corruption.

He instructed MPs that the SIU’s investigation were damaged into a few phases: the very first, which has been finalised, probed dodgy grants amounting to R280-million, and the next, also done, involved R247-million. From the third section, because 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 explained.

He claimed the SIU would use “before long” to the Presidential Proclamation, initially granted in October 2020 to investigate corruption involving lottery grants, to become prolonged to include procurement via the NLC.

The SIU investigation experienced up to now brought about thirteen disciplinary referrals towards the NLC, and administrative referrals to SARS and the Companies and Intellectual Qualities Commission to blacklist people implicated inside the looting. Grievances involving two men and women had been referred towards the Legal Apply Council as well as the SA Institute of Chartered Accountants.

The SIU had observed several traits beneath the earlier NLC board and govt - lots of whom are already implicated in looting - Mothibi informed MPs.

This bundled a “pattern of collusion between NLC officials and NPOs and NPCs”, “the hijacking of NPOs and NPCs” and “typical maladministration inside the acceptance of grants,” he said.

Slow progress because of the NPA
The SIU has frozen homes, Qualities, automobiles as well as other assets well worth tens of thousands and thousands that were bought with lottery funds, but MPs expressed concern at gradual development in prosecuting People involved with the looting. (The SIU is mandated only to Recuperate assets acquired with stolen condition funds and doesn't have prosecuting powers).

Even though the SIU has referred 15 issues towards the NPA, so far only two individuals have been introduced right before a courtroom. Two Adult males appeared in courtroom in Kimberley recently in connection with misappropriated resources collected for any challenge to fight gender-dependent violence.

In August 2022 Christopher Tshivule was sentenced to 8 many years in prison for his portion inside of a R1.five-million lottery grant fraud. Costs in opposition to two persons billed with him, who the SIU has referred to as “kingpins” from the corruption that overcome the NLC, ended up dropped.

Key-Normal Mmeli Makinyane, the acting divisional commissioner for priority offences, explained to MPs which the Hawks have been at present investigating 16 lottery corruption-similar scenarios. One more 1 - the Kimberley matter - is in advance of a court and two are actually sent to your NPA for a decision to prosecute. A further 5 cases are now being investigated via the SAPS detective and forensic providers, he reported.

Explaining the reasons for your delay in prosecutions, NPA Deputy Nationwide Director Rodney de Kock claimed A part of The key reason why was that the Hawks had to do further more investigations after they acquired dossiers within the SIU.

“In essence, the investigations carried out by the SIU tend not to satisfy prison standards for prosecutions.”

Therefore, the NPA experienced to work with investigators within the DPCI (the Hawks) and SAPS to conduct prison investigations and make sure the evidence satisfies criminal prosecution benchmarks, he explained, adding: “That said, the function with the SIU is very important and contributes greatly to this process.”

De Kock reported that the SIU’s investigation “normally results in several referrals. The referrals may perhaps in the end cause just one docket and one courtroom situation.”

He mentioned that 12 matters, that happen to be “close to eighty five% finish”, ended up staying jointly investigated because of the Hawks along with the SIU’s Specialised Economic Functions Unit. (The majority of these cases, 7 of which had been lodged in 2020, contain former NLC Main working officer Phillemon Letwaba, who resigned below a cloud in 2022, and Pretoria law firm Leslie Ramulifho.)

De Kock claimed the NPA confronted many “problems” in prosecuting situations. These, he mentioned, included

the lapse of time involving in the event the offences were being dedicated plus the issuing in the Presidential Proclamation on 1 November 2020;
“unavailability of witnesses and/or documentary proof” (Previously this 12 months, the SIU told the committee that essential paperwork desired in certain prosecutions were deleted from your NLC Laptop or computer process or experienced gone missing from Metrofile, a warehouse where by copies of files are archived and saved);
The reality that some implicated folks are still employed by NLC; and
A obstacle into the legality with the Presidential Proclamation by former NLC chairperson Alfred Nevhutanda.
“The NPA is dedicated to ensuring finalisation in these issues. To this stop, a group of committed prosecutors has become allocated to oversee all NLC matters currently less than investigation,” de Kock mentioned. “Matters are dealt with for a precedence. At the time [the] investigations are finished, the NPA is likely to make a choice.”

What the companies say (or don’t)
GroundUp was only in the position to get remark from among the five businesses accused by the SIU in Parliament of manufacturing fraudulent yearly economic statements,TTP Consulting.

Aubrey Moeng, one among TTP’s two directors, stated within an e-mail in reaction to inquiries: “Resulting from consumer confidentiality, we want to suggest that TTP Consulting is not ready to divulge shoppers’ money confidential facts with the general public or media … with no consent of the customer or perhaps a authorized motive.”

The company is really a “spouse” of many condition entities, which include SARS as well as CIPC, Based on its Internet site.

Neither of the two directors of Dzata Accountants, who are both of those mentioned as inactive to the CIPC sign-up of firms, responded to emailed queries. The organization continues to be deregistered because of the CIPC for failing to post fiscal statements considering that 2021.

The only director of Mageba Ntuli Investing and Consulting Service, Patrick Zulu, died three a long time ago, In line with Formal information. The corporate was deregistered via the CIPC for failing to post money statements considering the fact that 2021.

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

GroundUp was not able to discover any listing for Tafta Consulting and Accounting Solutions Using the CIPC. We were being also unable to trace any of the corporation’s directors to ask for remark.