SIU searches East London lottery offices in probe involving NPO funding

• The SIU says it received a tip-off alleging that 40 non-profit organisations were recruited to apply for funding at the National Lotteries Commission. 
• As part of an ongoing investigation, the SIU searched the NLC offices in East London, Eastern Cape.
• The non-profit organisations allegedly received R14 million.  

The Special Investigating Unit (SIU) searched the National Lotteries Commission's (NLC) offices in East London in the Eastern Cape on Wednesday and seized documents relating to an ongoing investigation.

The search was conducted after it received a tip-off from a whistleblower, who alleged that 40 non-profit organisations were recruited to apply for grant funding.

The organisations allegedly received about R14 million.

"Upon receiving the money, it was allegedly channelled to a family member of [a] former NLC board member," the SIU said.

News24 previously reported that in September, the SIU told Parliament's Oversight Committee on Trade and Industry that top executives had siphoned hundreds of millions in funds that were meant to help build schools, orphanages and other facilities.

Earlier this month, the National Prosecuting Authority's Asset Forfeiture Unit (AFU) secured a preservation order in the Gauteng High Court in Pretoria amid a probe into allegations of maladministration and corruption at the NLC.

In terms of the order, nine luxury residential estates to the value of R22 404 000, one BMW 420i Convertible and two Ocean Basket franchises were attached.

At the time, Gauteng NPA spokesperson Lumka Mahanjana said they were "all linked to grants allocated by the NLC and which have nothing to do with the purposes of the grants".

"Widespread corruption, fraud, theft, and contraventions of the Lotteries Act were discovered by the SIU against officials of the NLC and certain non-profit organisations that applied for NLC grants and worked in concert with each other to defraud the NLC."