SIU freezes Centurion property linked to lottery grant scam
The fraudulent application for R17.8 million was submitted to the NLC on July 7, 2018, and was approved just a day later under the commission’s proactive funding mechanism.
South Africa.- The Special Investigating Unit (SIU) has obtained a preservation order to freeze a Centurion smallholding purchased with funds from a fraudulent grant obtained by hijackers of the Make Me Movement (MMM), a gender-based violence advocacy organisation, in 2018.
MMM was created by Yolisa Yako to help victims of gender-based violence and provide support to survivors of domestic abuse, rape and other forms of violence against women and girls. However, in 2018, Yako claimed a grant application was fraudulently submitted in her organisation’s name, seeking almost R18 million (€873,405) from the National Lotteries Commission (NLC) for a project focused on “cycling development in rural areas”.
The fraudulent application for R17.8 million (€863,677) was submitted to the NLC on July 7, 2018, and was approved just a day later under the commission’s proactive funding mechanism, a system marred by allegations of abuse and mismanagement under the previous NLC leadership.
It has since been replaced with a new “research funding” model that allows emergency grants to be awarded to pre-vetted organisations for specific purposes like disaster relief.
The application also included falsified financial statements prepared by Dzata Accountants, a company flagged by the SIU for aiding organisations in defrauding the commission.
On July 27, 2018, the first instalment of R14.2 million (€688,905) was deposited into a Nedbank account held in the name of MMM, followed by a second payment of R3.6 million (€174,652) on January 23, 2019, without any work having been done on the project.
The SIU has identified the hijackers as Collin Tshisimba, his partner Fulufhelo Promise Kharivhe and Jacob Ramuhashi, who falsely claimed to be and signed as the Director of MMM in the grant application, as well as 13 other individuals indicted in the court order.
These suspects allegedly withdrew the funds from the Nedbank account and spent none of it towards the intended cycling development project. A day after receiving the first payment, R3 million was transferred to Thwala Front CC, a company controlled by Kharivhe, another R1 million was paid to Black Tshisimba (Pty) Ltd, a company linked to Tshisimba and R3 million went to Athletics SA.
The Centurion property that has been seized by the SIU was acquired by Black Tshisimba on November 23, 2018, through a purchase agreement that saw the company pay R2.5 million (€121,288) of the funds allegedly misappropriated from the NLC grant to the conveyancing attorneys handling the sale. The property was subsequently registered in the name of Black Tshisimba (Pty) Ltd on April 26, 2019.
The SIU has referred the case, including several others involving Tshisimba and his partner, to the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA). These investigations form part of the SIU’s probe into over R1.4 billion (€67.9m) in dodgy lottery grants awarded under the previous NLC leadership.
Last month, the SIU also seized a luxury property in Silverstream owned by Alfred Sigudhla after uncovering evidence that the house was purchased through NLC grant funds meant for charitable purposes.
