NPA lacking in lottery probe

Out of 19 separate matters involving lottery corruption that have been referred to the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), only one is currently before a court, with no progress in getting the rest before the courts, parliament heard.

Some of the charges, which include fraud, corruption and money laundering, date back to early 2022. This is according to two reports presented to MPs serving on parliament’s standing committee on public accounts (Scopa).

Those involved in the lottery probe

Senior Special Investigating Unit (SIU) officials presented a pared-down progress report with highlights of their investigation to the committee. MPs were also given a more comprehensive 128- page version, which went into detail about what they had uncovered and named people involved.

Among those named and referred to the NPA for prosecution are several former National Lotteries Commission (NLC) executives and board members, who oversaw the NLC at a time when it was overwhelmed by corruption.

The list of names, headed “key players in the lottery corruption”, is broken into two: “internal players” and “external players”, consisting of people the SIU has described as “kingpins”, and family and business associates.

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Key players

The SIU identified four executives and board members as key players in the looting.

• Former NLC COO Phillemon Letwaba: Last week, Letwaba was included in a Special Tribunal judgment that froze R25 million in assets acquired using plundered lottery funds.

• Former NLC board chair Alfred Nevhutanda: He used lottery funds to buy a Rolls-Royce and a luxury mansion, among other things.

• Former NLC board member William Huma: The Special Tribunal recently interdicted Huma from receiving R10 million from the sale of his Waterkloof mansion, which was paid for with lottery money.

• Former NLC Commissioner Thabang Mampane: Her weekend home on a golf estate was paid for with lottery money.

R2 billion in fraud and corruption

Members of Scopa listened in silence as the SIU explained in detail how they were currently investigating R2 billion in fraud and corruption.

But they were told this amount could increase substantially as the SIU was continually receiving new information about further lottery corruption.

“This amount keeps increasing because we are currently receiving new tip-offs about corruption, as well as uncovering more and more during our investigations,” SIU chief operating officer Leonard Lekgetho told MPs.

Gijimani Jim Skosana, an ANC MP, after hearing the extent of the looting, said: “They were very relaxed, just like they were scooping ice-cream.”

So far, the Special Tribunal and the Asset Forfeiture Unit have successfully frozen properties, vehicles and pensions worth almost R122 million.

ALSO READ: Lotto heist: SIU almost done with second phase of R1.4bn NLC corruption probe

Investigation

The SIU has completed two phases of its investigation, with phase one involving R280 million and R247 million in phase two. It has also delivered its first report to President Cyril Ramaphosa. Phase three, which is expected to be completed by 31 December, so far involves R905 million.

With new tip-offs coming in, the SIU says this will exceed the R2 billion “value of contracts under investigation with potential civil litigation” it previously estimated.

It has also referred Huma (an advocate), Lesley Ramulifho (an attorney who has been implicated in lottery corruption) and suspended NLC legal head Gugulethu Yako to the Legal Practice Council (LPC).

Ramulifho is already in the midst of a disciplinary hearing at the LPC, following a GroundUp complaint against him.

The SIU has also referred seven people and 14 companies to the Companies and Intellectual Property Commission (CIPC), asking for them to be placed on a delinquency list and be barred from registering companies in the future.

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