Tribunal freezes pension of ex-national lottery boss
Pension fund administrator ordered to withhold R2.8m in benefits due to Letwaba amid allegations that he stole funds earmarked for non-profit organisations
The Special Investigating Unit (SIU) has frozen the pension benefits of Philemon Letwaba, former COO of the National Lotteries Commission (NLC).
A preservation order from the Special Tribunal interdicts the Liberty Group, as the pension administrator, from paying out R2.8m in benefits due to Letwaba, pending a pending a case against him.
The SIU had approached the tribunal after Letwaba resigned from the NLC pending a disciplinary hearing on allegations that he personally benefited from funds that the NLC had distributed to non-profit organisations, said SIU spokesperson Kaizer Kganyago.
An investigation by the SIU found that Letwaba allegedly used family and friends to siphon funds that the NLC had designated for non-profit organisations (NPOs).
In one of several NLC-funded projects investigated by the SIU, Kganyago said it was found that a Limpopo-based NPO received about R25m for the refurbishment of a school in Vuwani.
Twelve days after receiving the money, the NPO allegedly transferred about R4m to one of the companies linked to Letwaba without evidence of work being done and in violation of the funding agreement.
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