THE ACCOUNTANTS WHO SERVED LOOT THE LOTTERY

The accountants who served loot the Lottery

The accountants who served loot the Lottery

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The Special Investigating Unit has recognized 5 accounting companies that helped loot Lottery cash. Graphic: Lisa Nelson

The Special Investigating Unit has determined 5 accounting and auditing firms that assisted non-financial gain organizations loot Lottery dollars meant for “good results in”.
The accounting companies compiled fraudulent economic statements employed by these corporations to make an application for Lottery funding, the SIU informed Parliament.
Acting Main national investigations officer Zodwa Xesibe reported the SIU would just take action to own these companies blacklisted.
A 4-yr probe via the หวย หุ้น ช่อง 9 วัน นี้ Unique Investigating Unit (SIU) has exposed 5 accounting and auditing companies that served dodgy non-revenue providers loot a huge selection of millions of rands intended for “great will cause” in the Lottery.

These firms were being described through the SIU as “Experienced enablers,” who “compiled fraudulent monetary statements” that were employed by the companies to apply for Lottery funding.

The 5 providers were being named in Parliament from the SIU’s performing Main national investigations officer Zodwa Xesibe. They are really TTP Consulting, Dzata Accountants, Magodi Consulting, Mageba Ntuli Consulting and Tafta Consulting and Accounting Services.

Fraudulent financials made by these five accounting corporations served just about 40 organizations get their palms on lottery funding, in accordance with the SIU presentation.

Dependant on a Device containing data with all lottery grants due to the fact 2002, these companies received over R314-million in funding.

“These NPCs had been funded through the National Lotteries Commission (NLC) even so the money were not utilised for their supposed function,” Xesibe told Parliament’s Trade, Marketplace and Competitiveness 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 men and women and organisations involved with looting the lottery to reserve.

Xesibe told GroundUp that the SIU meant to lodge issues from the accounting companies concerned and was checking if these corporations have been registered and, If that's the case, with which Experienced bodies.

“We want these firms to generally be blacklisted,” she told GroundUp.

To qualify for Lottery funding, an organisation was needed to generate two decades of once-a-year money statements, Xesibe described in Parliament.

Having said that, as an ongoing 6-year investigation into lottery corruption by GroundUp has disclosed, hijacked non-gain organisations (NPOs) or new shelf non-income businesses (NPCs) without monetary monitor data were used to apply for funding.

In some circumstances, Practically similar fiscal statements have been developed for unrelated organisations, typically with only the names of your organisations improved, GroundUp’s investigation uncovered.

Files submitted by authentic NPCs for unsuccessful grant programs have been typically utilized by new or hijacked NPCs and NPOs to apply for funding. The main points and paperwork on the unsuccessful applicants were equipped by senior Lottery officers to your dodgy applicants.

With cursory or - generally - no verification, these dodgy applicants were being awarded millions of rands in grants. From time to time added tranches of funds ended up compensated out devoid of Considerably examining around the development of projects.

The vast majority of such grants were being manufactured via proactive funding, which was at the heart on the looting of your lottery. Proactive funding authorized the Minister of Trade, Business and Opposition, or perhaps the NLC at the side of its board, to identify causes to fund with out initial 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 now investigating grants valued at in excess of R2-billion, plus the unit was still consistently obtaining suggestion-offs about much more corruption.

He explained to MPs which the SIU’s investigation were broken into three phases: the primary, which has been finalised, probed dodgy grants amounting to R280-million, and the second, also finished, involved R247-million. In the 3rd period, because of be finalised at the end of the calendar year, the SIU is investigating grants valued at Nearly R906-million, involving 40 NPOs and NPCs, Mothibi reported.

He claimed that the SIU would utilize “shortly” for your Presidential Proclamation, at first granted in October 2020 to investigate corruption involving lottery grants, to be prolonged to include procurement by the NLC.

The SIU investigation had up to now brought about 13 disciplinary referrals towards the NLC, and administrative referrals to SARS and the businesses and Intellectual Attributes Commission to blacklist persons implicated from the looting. Grievances involving two persons were referred to your Lawful Exercise Council and the SA Institute of Chartered Accountants.

The SIU experienced noticed many traits under the earlier NLC board and government - lots of whom happen to be implicated in looting - Mothibi advised MPs.

This bundled a “development of collusion involving NLC officials and NPOs and NPCs”, “the hijacking of NPOs and NPCs” and “general maladministration during the approval of grants,” he said.

Sluggish development with the NPA
The SIU has frozen homes, Houses, vehicles as well as other property truly worth tens of thousands and thousands which were purchased with lottery cash, but MPs expressed worry at sluggish progress in prosecuting People involved with the looting. (The SIU is mandated only to Get well property purchased with stolen state cash and doesn't have prosecuting powers).

While the SIU has referred 15 matters towards the NPA, to this point only two folks have been introduced just before a courtroom. Two Adult males appeared in courtroom in Kimberley lately in connection with misappropriated funds gathered for a project to combat gender-centered violence.

In August 2022 Christopher Tshivule was sentenced to eight many years in jail for his aspect within a R1.five-million lottery grant fraud. Prices versus two people today charged with him, who the SIU has called “kingpins” within the corruption that overcome the NLC, were dropped.

Key-General Mmeli Makinyane, the acting divisional commissioner for priority offences, instructed MPs the Hawks were at this time investigating sixteen lottery corruption-linked scenarios. Another one - the Kimberley matter - is right before a courtroom and two are sent to the NPA for a choice to prosecute. A further five cases are now being investigated through the SAPS detective and forensic solutions, he claimed.

Describing The explanations for the delay in prosecutions, NPA Deputy National Director Rodney de Kock reported Section of The main reason was the Hawks needed to do more investigations when they obtained dossiers through the SIU.

“In essence, the investigations carried out via the SIU usually do not satisfy felony requirements for prosecutions.”

For that reason, the NPA experienced to work with investigators inside the DPCI (the Hawks) and SAPS to carry out criminal investigations and be sure that the proof meets criminal prosecution expectations, he explained, including: “Having said that, the get the job done of your SIU is important and contributes considerably to this process.”

De Kock said the SIU’s investigation “typically results in a number of referrals. The referrals might finally lead to just one docket and one court situation.”

He said that 12 matters, which happen to be “around 85% full”, ended up remaining jointly investigated by the Hawks along with the SIU’s Specialised Economic Operations Device. (Most of these circumstances, seven of which were being 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 explained the NPA confronted various “troubles” in prosecuting situations. These, he stated, included

the lapse of time involving when the offences have been dedicated and also the issuing with the Presidential Proclamation on one November 2020;
“unavailability of witnesses and/or documentary proof” (Before this year, the SIU advised the committee that vital files required in some prosecutions were deleted from the NLC Computer system procedure or experienced absent missing from Metrofile, a warehouse wherever copies of documents are archived and saved);
The point that some implicated people today remain employed by NLC; and
A obstacle to your legality on the Presidential Proclamation by former NLC chairperson Alfred Nevhutanda.
“The NPA is dedicated to guaranteeing finalisation in these matters. To this end, a workforce of dedicated prosecutors continues to be allotted to supervise all NLC issues at this time under investigation,” de Kock stated. “Matters are handled like a priority. The moment [the] investigations are done, the NPA could make a call.”

What the businesses say (or don’t)
GroundUp was only ready to get remark from among the 5 corporations accused via the SIU in Parliament of manufacturing fraudulent annual economical statements,TTP Consulting.

Aubrey Moeng, amongst TTP’s two directors, said in an electronic mail in response to inquiries: “As a result of shopper confidentiality, we desire to suggest that TTP Consulting is not willing to divulge consumers’ economical private info with the public or media … without the consent on the customer or simply a lawful reason.”

The organization is actually a “spouse” of numerous state entities, such as SARS as well as the CIPC, In accordance with its Web site.

Neither of The 2 directors of Dzata Accountants, who will be both equally shown as inactive around the CIPC sign up of firms, responded to emailed concerns. The corporate is deregistered by the CIPC for failing to submit fiscal statements considering the fact that 2021.

The sole director of Mageba Ntuli Trading and Consulting Services, Patrick Zulu, died three several years in the past, In keeping with Formal data. The corporation was deregistered by the CIPC for failing to post financial statements since 2021.

Matamela Magodi, the only real director of Magodi Consultants, did not respond to questions emailed to him.

GroundUp was struggling to locate any listing for Tafta Consulting and Accounting Companies With all the CIPC. We were also not able to trace any of the organization’s administrators to ask for comment.

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