Zuko Komisa

- The Special Tribunal has ordered SASCOC and several co-respondents to repay nearly R25 million in diverted National Lotteries Commission (NLC) grant funding.
- An SIU probe revealed that a 2016 Olympic roadshow grant was fast-tracked and funnelled into a fake foundation created using forged signatures.
- The stolen public funds were used to purchase luxury properties, vehicles, and livestock, prompting asset freezes and criminal referrals.
South Africa’s Special Investigating Unit (SIU) has secured a Special Tribunal judgment ordering SASCOC and several associated parties to repay R24.83 million.
The court ruled that the funds, initially allocated as an NLC grant, were unlawfully siphoned off through a network of corrupt officials and private businesses.
In July 2016, SASCOC acted as a conduit to secure a R34.83 million grant for the Mshandukani Foundation. The SIU discovered the foundation was a front, registered using the stolen identities and forged signatures of two employees.
Despite lacking financial records, the grant was approved in just six days. SASCOC kept R10 million and transferred the remaining R24.83 million to the fake foundation.
Instead of funding a 2016 Rio Olympics roadshow, the money was spent on luxury assets. Over R15 million went to a travel agency linked to former NLC Chief Operations Officer Philemon Letwaba, where it was spent on cars, livestock, and property.
The Tribunal has ordered SASCOC, its former CFO Vinesh Maharaj, and the implicated companies to repay the funds, heavily criticizing the sports body’s complicity.
“The Tribunal declared the R24.98 million payment made by the NLC to SASCOC unlawful, set it aside, and found that misrepresentation, maladministration, and unlawful enrichment had tainted the grant.”

The SIU has already frozen two luxury houses in Centurion and industrial machinery linked to the orchestrators. Following the judgment, the unit will now refer the evidence to the National Prosecuting Authority for criminal prosecution.
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