Actress turned businesswoman Carol Bouwer is the next celebrity who will have her assets frozen after being implicated in the National Lotteries Commission (NLC)money scandal. This comes after Tsotsi actors Moitheri "Terry' Pheto and Presley Chweneyagae were named as those who benefited unlawfully from NLC and are accused of being beneficiaries in the alleged property fraud. Last week Arthur Mafokate's properties were attached after Specialist Investigative Unit was granted a preservation order by the high court. One of Mafokate's former employees exposed him for the misappropriation of R56 million in community development funds from the National Lotteries Commission(NLC).  ?

CAROL IMPLICATED

Bouwer who is one of the three directors of a Non-Profitable Organisation named Venalor is reported to have received funds from NLC. The other two directors Athina Christians and Hazel Sithole received R4.7 million, R2 million and R292 300 respectively in the 2018/2019 financial year through the NPO. Venalor allegedly received a further R100 000 grant from the NLC as part of the COVID-19 Relief Fund which was intended to help non-profit organisation struggling to stay afloat during the pandemic.?

NO ACCOUNTABILITY

The Democratic Alliance (DA) has revealed that the National Lotteries Commission (NLC) tried to avoid accounting for the grants given to Bouwer's company. The grant which was made to Venalor is still a mystery as it is not known what it was for or how it was used. In a written response to the DA's questions, the NLC stated that only the Special Investigative Unit could determine if they must answer their question and be accountable to Parliament.

A highly placed source tells ZiMoja, "Venalor received a total of R7,064,480 between 2018 and 2020, but it is still unclear what the NPO does despite being registered as a non-profit company.' the source said, adding that this was not the first scandal the company was involved in. The Companies and Intellectual Property Commission (CIPC) records reveals that Venalor shares office premises with her company, Carol Bouwer Productions, and several other of her business ventures in Cape Town. She is a director of 24 different companies. ?

revealMORE SCANDALS

Bouwer also featured on the Public Protector Report into an R70 million spending spree on memorial services of Nelson Mandela in Mpumalanga after his death in 2013,' the source adds. "They found that while the company was paid R44.2 million and had paid other service providers, she could not show how much the service had received.' Bouwer has failed to answer questions sent to her by ZiMoja.