The SIU report revealed that NLC officials and certain members of the board colluded with NPOs and NPCs to syphon money from NLC to funnel public funds into private hands.
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IN A scathing progress update delivered to the Portfolio Committee on Trade and Industry, Leonard Lekgetho, acting head of the Special Investigating Unit (SIU), unveiled devastating findings from an extensive investigation into corruption, maladministration, and irregular expenditure at the National Lotteries Commission (NLC).
The SIU’s investigation, covering the period from January 2014 to November 2020 as per Proclamation No R32 of 2020 and extended to 10 October 2025 as per Proclamation No R293 of 2025, blew the lid off a sprawling network of illicit activities that might have severely compromised the integrity of one of South Africa’s key public institutions.
“NLC officials and some board members colluded with non-profit organisations (NPOs) and non-profit companies (NPCs) to syphon money from NLC,” the report found.
The SIU report revealed that NLC officials and certain members of the board colluded with NPOs and NPCs to syphon money from NLC to funnel public funds into private hands.
The modus operandi was laid bare: “Inadequate project management, lack of monitoring and evaluation, ineffective auditing techniques for projects, general maladministration in the approval of the grants, a system not geared to detect abuse, and corrupt elements” formed the root causes that enabled this systemic theft.
Among the most damning evidence presented was the identification of companies allegedly linked to senior NLC executives actively engaged in fraudulent schemes. Notably, executives, allegedly working with certain board members, established multiple entities to defraud the NLC.
Similarly, the SIU implicated several NPOs and NPCs as vehicles to allegedly channel funds improperly. The SIU exposed alleged enablers within the professional community. Certain accountants allegedly enabled fraudulent financial statements essential for these corrupt grant applications.
The report noted that some of the NPOs or NPCs that did not meet the requirements for NLC application… were enabled by certain accountants to submit fraudulent financial statements for the purpose of NLC grant funding application, revealing an absence of regulatory oversight as “none of these enablers is registered with professional bodies”.
Lekgetho underscored the SIU’s constitutional and legislative mandate, emphasising its authority under the Special Investigating Units and Special Tribunals Act (Act 74 of 1996) to “subpoena, search and seize evidence, and interrogate witnesses under oath” once a presidential proclamation is issued.
However, the SIU cannot arrest or prosecute offenders but works in close collaboration with other agencies to pursue justice.
The SIU’s report did not merely expose past failures but offers a roadmap for rectification: “Based on the findings during investigations, the following recommendations are made: All current proactive funded projects should be captured in the grant management system/Fusion system,” Lekgetho stated.
Crucially, he further stated: “The system is designed in a manner in which it is unable to detect different applications for grant funding from one individual using different NPOs or NPCs. The SIU recommends that the NLC procure an integrated system that is able to detect such abnormalities.”
Other measures include:
The SIU’s investigation has not gone unchallenged. According to the report, a review has been filed in the North Gauteng High Court seeking to have the investigation declared invalid, arguing that the NLC is not a state institution under the SIU Act.
The SIU refuted this, stating: “The NLC is an organ of the state. The NLC is a Schedule 3A public entity that was established in terms of the Lotteries Act No 57 of 1997… The executive authority of the NLC is the minister in the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition.”
The SIU is actively opposing the application and has succeeded in obtaining a preservation order.
Lekgetho emphasised that the SIU’s unwavering commitment to eradicating corruption: “The first Presidential Progress report has been submitted to the Presidency. The second Presidential Progress report is with legal for review.”