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The Special Investigation Unit executing a search and seizure warrant at the offices of the National Lottery Commission in Pretoria.
- The SIU carried out a raid on the NLC offices in Pretoria on Tuesday.
- The unit is investigating the national lottery for corruption, fraud and irregularities in the bids.
- The scope of the investigation covers the last six years.
The Special Investigation Unit (SIU) will collect a large amount of documents and information stored electronically while investigating the National Lottery Commission (NLC) for corruption, fraud and irregularities in the bidding during the last six years.
About a dozen SIU officers carried out a search and seizure warrant at the NLC headquarters in Pretoria on Tuesday morning.
The officers were seen leaving with boxes of documents and it is understood that computers and other electronic storage devices will be confiscated.
From there, the SIU will also collect documents from the subway archive, while a raid on a law firm is expected to be executed as part of the investigation.
The SIU executed a search and seizure warrant at the headquarters of the National Lottery Commission in Pretoria while investigating allegations of corruption, fraud and irregularities in the bidding. @ TeamNews24 pic.twitter.com/AM4Aw5bROJ
– Alex Mitchley (@AlexMitchley) December 8, 2020
SIU spokesman Kaizer Kganyago said the team knows exactly what documents are needed and where they have been stored.
He added that the searched documents are found.
Once the search and seizures are completed, the information collected will be analyzed to see if allegations of wrongdoing by the national lottery can be substantiated.
These raids are part of an SIU investigation following the proclamation signed by President Cyril Ramaphosa, which ordered an investigation into the NLC and allegations of corruption, fraud and irregularities in bidding since 2014.
Kganyago said the SIU is investigating the following allegations:
- Serious mismanagement in connection with the affairs of the NLC;
- Illegal appropriation or spending of money or public property;
- Misconduct or illegal conduct of employees or officials of the NLC;
- Illegal, irregular or unapproved acts, transactions, measures or purchasing practices that affect state property; Y
- Intentional or negligent loss of public money or damage to public property.
The commission has recently been embroiled by ongoing reports of corruption, nepotism and mismanagement, GroundUp reported.
There have been a number of allegations that senior NLC executives are awarding grants to friends, family, and close associates.
In September, News24 reported that four NLC proactive funding projects had allegedly been linked to COO Philemon Letwaba, his friends and family.
READ | Police investigate 4 alleged corrupt projects in the lottery commission, but the chairman of the board will not resign
A non-profit organization (NPO) received R11 million, of which R2 million was allegedly paid to a private company owned by a person related to an NLC employee.
Another NPO, which was reportedly established in May 2017, received funds around six months later in the amount of R4.8 million.
News24 also reported that Parliament had ordered the president of the NLC, Professor Alfred Nevhutanda, to resign in September.
His position was reportedly announced, with an appointment date set for December 1.
Kganyago said that if the allegations can be substantiated, they will begin the process to recover the money and, if there is crime, it will be pursued to the end.
The Special Investigation Unit executing a search and seizure warrant at the offices of the National Lottery Commission in Pretoria.
News24 News24 / Alex Mitchley
He was unable to give an estimate of the amount allegedly diverted through irregularities, but said it would be a large sum of money since the transactions being investigated date back to 2014.
Kganyago added that if an irregularity is discovered, those involved will not be spared, even if they are in top management or on the NLC board.
READ | SIU raids offices of the National Lottery Commission
NLC spokesman Ndivhuho Mafela said that the SIU’s investigation was welcomed as they are a government entity and such investigations are part of the government’s checks and balances.
“So we are here helping the SIU and we are fully cooperating with the requirements that the SIU needs for this investigation that they are conducting,” Mafela said.
Mafela added that the allegations against the NLC were not new and that the board and commission had also conducted their own investigation.
“It is not something the commission has taken lightly.
“The NLC is aware that we are sitting on public funds and misuse of those becomes a very serious matter for us, therefore the board and the NLC did their best to investigate.
“We welcome these new moves by the SIU to investigate, in the hope that all of these issues will be ruled out.
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