The Special Investigating Unit has identified 5 accounting firms that aided loot Lottery cash. Graphic: Lisa Nelson

The Special Investigating Device has discovered 5 accounting and auditing companies that served non-revenue organizations loot Lottery cash supposed for “fantastic will cause”.
The accounting corporations compiled fraudulent monetary statements utilized by these companies to apply for Lottery funding, the SIU instructed Parliament.
Acting Main countrywide investigations officer Zodwa Xesibe explained the SIU would choose motion to have these firms blacklisted.
A four-year probe with the หวย วัน นี้ Exclusive Investigating Unit (SIU) has exposed five accounting and auditing corporations that helped dodgy non-gain organizations loot many hundreds of numerous rands intended for “superior causes” through the Lottery.

These firms were explained because of the SIU as “Specialist enablers,” who “compiled fraudulent economic statements” that were used by the businesses to make an application for Lottery funding.

The five companies were being named in Parliament via the SIU’s acting Main nationwide investigations officer Zodwa Xesibe. They're TTP Consulting, Dzata Accountants, Magodi Consulting, Mageba Ntuli Consulting and Tafta Consulting and Accounting Providers.

Fraudulent financials made by these 5 accounting firms aided approximately forty firms get their hands on lottery funding, according to the SIU presentation.

Determined by a Software made up of information with all lottery grants due to the fact 2002, these companies acquired about R314-million in funding.

“These NPCs were being funded by the National Lotteries Fee (NLC) nevertheless the money were not made use of for his or her intended intent,” Xesibe explained to Parliament’s Trade, Marketplace and Levels of competition Portfolio Committee final 7 days.

The SIU, the Hawks as well as Nationwide Prosecuting Authority (NPA) were being in Parliament to report back to the committee on progress in bringing persons and organisations linked to looting the lottery to e book.

Xesibe informed GroundUp the SIU meant to lodge problems towards the accounting companies included and was examining if these corporations had been registered and, If that's so, with which Experienced bodies.

“We wish these companies to become blacklisted,” she told GroundUp.

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

Even so, as an ongoing 6-year investigation into lottery corruption by GroundUp has disclosed, hijacked non-earnings organisations (NPOs) or new shelf non-gain corporations (NPCs) with no economical track information were being used to make an application for funding.

In certain situations, Practically similar economic statements have been developed for unrelated organisations, typically with only the names in the organisations transformed, GroundUp’s investigation identified.

Documents submitted by legitimate NPCs for unsuccessful grant apps had been often employed by new or hijacked NPCs and NPOs to make an application for funding. The main points and documents with the unsuccessful applicants were provided by senior Lottery officers into the dodgy applicants.

With cursory or - usually - no verification, these dodgy applicants ended up awarded millions of rands in grants. Often additional tranches of money were being paid out with no A great deal examining within the progress of assignments.

The vast majority of these grants had been created through proactive funding, which was at the heart of the looting of your lottery. Proactive funding permitted the Minister of Trade, Sector and Competition, or the NLC at the side of its board, to discover leads to to fund without the need of 1st requiring an application. This was stopped each time a new NLC board was appointed.

R2-billion in grants less than investigation
SIU head Advocate Andy Mothibi stated the SIU was presently investigating grants valued at around R2-billion, along with the unit was nonetheless regularly obtaining idea-offs about a lot more corruption.

He instructed MPs that the SIU’s investigation had been damaged into a few phases: the initial, that has been finalised, probed dodgy grants amounting to R280-million, and the 2nd, also completed, concerned R247-million. From the 3rd section, because of be finalised at the conclusion of the 12 months, the SIU is investigating grants valued at Just about R906-million, involving 40 NPOs and NPCs, Mothibi stated.

He said which the SIU would utilize “shortly” for that Presidential Proclamation, initially granted in October 2020 to analyze corruption involving lottery grants, to get extended to incorporate procurement from the NLC.

The SIU investigation experienced so far brought about 13 disciplinary referrals into the NLC, and administrative referrals to SARS and the Companies and Mental Attributes Commission to blacklist people today implicated while in the looting. Problems involving two men and women were referred into the Legal Apply Council and the SA Institute of Chartered Accountants.

The SIU had observed numerous tendencies beneath the past NLC board and govt - most of whom have been implicated in looting - Mothibi explained to MPs.

This bundled a “development of collusion amongst NLC officials and NPOs and NPCs”, “the hijacking of NPOs and NPCs” and “general maladministration in the acceptance of grants,” he mentioned.

Gradual progress via the NPA
The SIU has frozen houses, Houses, cars and other assets value tens of tens of millions that were bought with lottery funds, but MPs expressed concern at sluggish development in prosecuting those involved in the looting. (The SIU is mandated only to recover assets acquired with stolen point out cash and doesn't have prosecuting powers).

When the SIU has referred fifteen matters towards the NPA, so far only two folks have been brought prior to a court docket. Two Gentlemen appeared in courtroom in Kimberley lately in reference to misappropriated resources collected for a job to fight gender-dependent violence.

In August 2022 Christopher Tshivule was sentenced to 8 many years in prison for his aspect inside a R1.5-million lottery grant fraud. Fees from two people charged with him, who the SIU has described as “kingpins” inside the corruption that overcome the NLC, were being dropped.

Main-Normal Mmeli Makinyane, the performing divisional commissioner for precedence offences, explained to MPs which the Hawks had been at present investigating sixteen lottery corruption-similar instances. Yet another just one - the Kimberley make a difference - is right before a court docket and two have been despatched for the NPA for a choice to prosecute. A further 5 conditions are increasingly being investigated because of the SAPS detective and forensic expert services, he stated.

Explaining The explanations for the hold off in prosecutions, NPA Deputy National Director Rodney de Kock claimed Portion of The main reason was the Hawks needed to do additional investigations if they obtained dossiers with the SIU.

“In essence, the investigations carried out by the SIU usually do not satisfy criminal expectations for prosecutions.”

Thus, the NPA experienced to work with investigators within the DPCI (the Hawks) and SAPS to perform prison investigations and make sure the proof fulfills criminal prosecution specifications, he said, introducing: “That said, the work on the SIU is significant and contributes tremendously to this method.”

De Kock explained which the SIU’s investigation “typically results in a number of referrals. The referrals may in the end cause a person docket and one court docket circumstance.”

He claimed that twelve issues, which are “approximately eighty five% comprehensive”, have been becoming jointly investigated by the Hawks and also the SIU’s Specialised Financial Operations Device. (The majority of these instances, 7 of which were lodged in 2020, entail previous NLC chief working officer Phillemon Letwaba, who resigned less than a cloud in 2022, and Pretoria lawyer Leslie Ramulifho.)

De Kock mentioned the NPA faced quite a few “difficulties” in prosecuting situations. These, he reported, included

the lapse of time in between if the offences ended up fully commited as well as issuing of the Presidential Proclamation on one November 2020;
“unavailability of witnesses and/or documentary proof” (Previously this yr, the SIU informed the committee that important documents desired in a few prosecutions had been deleted from the NLC computer process or had absent lacking from Metrofile, a warehouse the place copies of documents are archived and stored);
The point that some implicated folks remain used by NLC; and
A challenge for the legality of your Presidential Proclamation by former NLC chairperson Alfred Nevhutanda.
“The NPA is devoted to guaranteeing finalisation in these issues. To this close, a team of dedicated prosecutors has become allotted to supervise all NLC matters at the moment beneath investigation,” de Kock explained. “Matters are dealt with as being a priority. At the time [the] investigations are done, the NPA is likely to make a choice.”

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

Aubrey Moeng, amongst TTP’s two directors, explained within an email in reaction to questions: “Resulting from client confidentiality, we would like to recommend that TTP Consulting is not willing to divulge consumers’ economical private information with the general public or media … with no consent from the consumer or maybe a authorized motive.”

The corporation is usually a “lover” of various condition entities, which includes SARS and also the CIPC, according to its website.

Neither of The 2 directors of Dzata Accountants, who will be equally outlined as inactive to the CIPC register of firms, responded to emailed questions. The business has been deregistered with the CIPC for failing to post money statements because 2021.

The sole director of Mageba Ntuli Buying and selling and Consulting Assistance, Patrick Zulu, died 3 yrs in the past, In keeping with Formal data. The corporate was deregistered with the CIPC for failing to submit monetary statements given that 2021.

Matamela Magodi, the sole director of Magodi Consultants, did not reply to issues emailed to him.

GroundUp was unable to obtain any listing for Tafta Consulting and Accounting Expert services Together with the CIPC. We were also not able to trace any of the company’s directors to request remark.