Popular influencer and satirist Lesego Torabi, aka: coconut keltsrecently found herself embroiled in controversy after her name came up in the ongoing corruption investigation at the National Lotteries Commission (NLC).
research by ground up It has exposed an alleged scheme in which NLC used service providers to funnel millions of rands to its hand-picked third-party suppliers, bypassing supply management systems and concealing the true source of funds.
Coconut Keltz named in NLC fraud case
according to ground upthe NLC directed companies to engage and remunerate service providers without any input in the selection process.
As a result, many of these payments are reported by the Comptroller's Office as fraudulent expenditures.
In particular, ProEthics, a company that received over R28.4 million from the NLC between 2019 and 2022, acted as a conduit to funnel funds to various suppliers.
In another example, Digital Dynasty charged ProEthics R100,000 to secure Torabi's participation as a panelist at an NLC ethics event.
response to south african, Torabi said: “This is about an event I moderated.” [sic] The normal procedure is that they contact my manager and agree to a rate according to my fee schedule, time and work required. I moderated the event, but that was my only involvement with the company. ”
According to marketers who have experience booking influencers and social media personalities to speak, R100,000 is above average, while the typical price for booking a panel is “R25,000 to R30,000” and “that It also includes posts about. .
New leadership exposes rampant corruption within NLC
The revelations came against the backdrop of rampant fraud and corruption that plagued NLC under the previous board and management.
While the new leadership strives to restore the organization's health, the scale of the fraud uncovered by the Special Investigations Unit (SIU) is alarming.
The SIU reported that the second stage investigation into the NLC is 90% complete. The investigation estimates that a total of R1.4 billion in funds was lost due to corruption.
Highly publicized NLC cases include:
- Actress and fashion designer Terry Feto is said to have profited unfairly from NLC subsidies for poultry farms.
- Presley Chweneyagae applied for funding through SAYM, but the money was directed to a company owned by a relative of a former NLC executive.
- Former NLC board member and advocate William Huma was involved in a hijacked NPO project in Marikana. A company he is involved with has been purchasing land for a project, and there are suspicions of misappropriation of funds.
Torabi will study further in Paris
Torabi, who has made a name for herself in South Africa as a satirist, performer, podcaster and television presenter, is the stepdaughter of renowned journalist Lady Torabi.
She recently moved to Paris to pursue a master's degree in communications.
In an interview with daily maverickshe expressed a desire to continue creating content, with podcasting and writing still featuring prominently in her future plans.
“I still want to create content. I think podcasting is still in my future. Content creation, writing,” she said.
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