964
Staff Reporters
FUEL giant, Tholo Energy, allegedly defrauded the government of M660 million between 2012 and 2023 by under declaring petroleum levies to the Petroleum Fund, the company’s former acting chief executive officer, Tumisang Thahanyane, has said.
Mr Thahanyane makes the shocking claims in his affidavit filed in opposition to the Lesotho Mounted Police Service (LMPS)’s application to place his property under curatorship after Tholo Energy owner, Thabiso Moroahae, accused him of stealing M60 million from his company.
Mr Moroahae told the Maseru Magistrates Court on 23 November 2023 that Mr Thahanyane stole M60 million from Tholo Energy. He then asked the court to interdict Mr Thahanyane from having access to Tholo Energy’s offices, communicating with other employees and clients as well as competitors. He also wanted him to handover all Tholo Energy documents which were in his possession.
Subsequently, Mr Thahanyane and his wife, Malerato Khutlisi, were in January this year charged by the Maseru Magistrates Court for defrauding Tholo Energy of M40 million between 2018 and 2023. He was accused of stealing the money by depositing part of it into Ms Khutlisi’s accounts.
The couple was charged alongside Victor Makhetha, Lisebo Sepheakhang, Siene Ratsiu, Siene Supplies, Lehlohonolo Teba, Ntaso Khanyapa, Moratuoa Hlongoa, Talenta Masoatsa, Thabana Thabana, Lineo Khotseng, Tloaelo Khutlisi, Ntsane Nyai and Lereko Matlotlo. They all stand accused of having received undue payments from Tholo Energy.
Charges
Mr Thahanyane and his 14 alleged accomplices appeared before Resident Magistrate Motlatsi Kolisang on 26 January 2024 who conferred them with the fraud, theft, and money laundering charges.
Mr Thahanyane was further charged with misappropriation of funds and abuse of power charges.
Magistrate Kolisang released him on M15 000 bail and M70 000 surety while his co-accused were released on M10 000 bail and M50 000 surety each.
They were charged alongside three companies; Vicmo Industrial Supply, City Metal (Pty) Ltd and Earthly Market, which were allegedly used to swindle some of the monies from Tholo Energy.
The police had secured an order from Justice Polo Banyane on 8 February 2024 to attach Ms Khutlisi assets over her alleged participation in the M40 million theft.
Ms Khutlisi has from 4 March 2024 been challenging the LMPS’s attachment order through her lawyer, Advocate Christopher Lephuthing.
Ms Khutlisi’s popular Shelly Brown jaunt, whose property had been seized in pursuit of Justice Banyane’s order, resumed operations on 6 March 2024. This after she learned from Adv Lephuthing that Justice Banyane’s order did not bar it from operating.
However, the jaunt was again raided by the police on 5 April 2024. They allegedly seized stock valued at M150 000 before expelling patrons and shutting down the Ha Thamae club.
Ms Khutlisi ran back to court again on 10 April, filing an interlocutory application seeking an order barring the police from closing her business and to return the stock taken on 5 April.
Justice ‘Mafelile Ralebese reserved her judgement to 14 August 2024 in that matter.
Curatorship
While the judgement is still pending, the LMPS made another application this past week to place properties belonging to Mr Thahanyane which include his double storey Ha Thamae mansion under curatorship.
In his answering affidavit to this latest application, Mr Thahanyane claims he was fired after raising concerns over the manner in which Mr Moroahae was “fraudulently” conducting the Tholo Energy business.
Mr Thahanyane explains that he was hired by Mr Moroahae as Tholo Energy’s chief financial officer in March 2015 until he was promoted to be chief operations officer on 19 July 2019 whilst also acting as the chief executive officer. He says he resigned on 2 November 2023 after his lawyer advised him that he would be “taken to have associated himself” with Mr Moroahae’s illegal activities if he remained with the company.
“When I joined the company in March 2015, I became aware of a practice in terms of which the sales were under declared to the relevant authorities. When I questioned this Thabiso (Moroahae) brought it to my attention that all companies in the fuel and petroleum sector underdeclared their sales/levies to the relevant government institutions,” Mr Thahanyane claims.
“He informed me that this information, which he relayed to me constituted ‘classified information’ of the company known only to himself and now myself. He reminded me that I had signed a document/contract of employment that obliged me to keep all information about Tholo as well as its trade operations and business activities confidential and secret. He promised me that I stand to benefit financially in that I would get a share of the savings that would have been made from the underdeclared fuel levies. He informed me that I would receive payments and benefits in kind in return for keeping the ‘trade secret’. I duly assured him that I would keep the secret.
“As a result of the under declarations of petroleum levies/sales, we were able to have a lot of cash. It was this cash that was used to compensate me as agreed. It was this excess cash, which Thabiso used for his leisure and maintenance of his extramarital partners. It is because the payments would be made and there would be no need for supporting documents. Where bank transactions/transfers were made such transactions would be given legitimate reference numbers but would not have any supporting documents.
“I estimate that the company benefitted in the sum of approximately M5 million per month, which translates to approximately M60 million per annum in underdeclared fuel levies. He informed me in high confidence as he put it that this practice started in 2012 after they discovered that this is a routine and standard practice in the fuel and petroleum industry in Lesotho. As far as I am aware, this practice continued until my resignation in November 2023.”
Before the resignation, Mr Thahanyane says he had tried to warn Mr Moroahae to stop the illegal activities but the latter reported him to the police to stop him from reporting Tholo Energy to the Petroleum Fund. Mr Moroahae had therefore opened a case of theft against him in retaliation, hence his charging in January 2024 for the M40 million theft.
Payments
Mr Thahanyane claims he would often be instructed to pay bribes to several individuals whom his employer said were instrumental to the day-to-day operations of Tholo Energy.
“I used to be instructed to make cash payments to Mr X (name withheld but can be disclosed should the honourable court demand so) who worked at Letšeng Diamonds. He used to be paid monthly sums ranging between M150 000 to M200 000 in cash. This money would be withdrawn in cash after Thabiso would have requisitioned same and I would have authorised it. I personally delivered the cash at Mohalalitoe and I later discovered that this was the home of Mr X’s mother. I also discovered that Mr X was the senior manager at Letšeng Diamonds. If I did not find Mr X at his home, I would make the delivery of the cash to his mother with a request that she should transmit such money to Mr X. The home is situated at Mohalalitoe and Kharetsane Streets. This practice of making payments to Mr X ran for the period from 2016 until 2021.
“Tholo also paid the legal fees of the former police commissioner when he had challenges with the administration of Prime Minister Thabane and Prime Minister Majoro. What used to happen was that money would be withdrawn from the bank on the account of Tholo and on the instructions of Thabiso. Such money would be given to former police commissioner in cash. He would collect the money from our offices at ‘Matanki House (in Maseru). The money came from under-declared fuel levies.
“Not only did Tholo pay for the former police commissioner’s exorbitant legal fees, but at one time he was handed in the sum of M300 000 in cash in my presence. I asked Thabiso what the amount involved and he informed me that it was to enable the former police commissioner to purchase a vehicle. I can confirm that he has since purchased such vehicle and it is an Audi brand. Thabiso confided in me that the commissioner of police then was key to the business of Tholo in that he played a role in the grant of firearm licences and as and when Thabiso wanted to use force against business competitors, the police would not charge him for his illegal conduct. For instance, he once asked the former commissioner of police to apprehend our competitors’ trucks for not being compliant with Road Traffic Act Regulations, the operation which dismally failed.”
Although Mr Thahanyane does not mention the former commissioner by name, the only commissioner who served under Messrs Thabane and Majoro was Commissioner Holomo Molibeli who retired in February this year. Mr Molibeli had also challenged Messrs Thabane and Majoro in the High Court when they wanted to fire him on separate occasions.
Mr Thahanyane also alleges he had been instructed to make payments to an unnamed chief operations officer at fuel company, Sasol, in cash. He says Mr Moroahae had told him the Sasol employee had facilitated for the acquisition of the Letšeng deal.
He also claims Mr Moroahae used Tholo Energy funds to sponsor his “side chicks’” lavish lifestyles.
Fake audits
“The under-declaration of levies meant that Tholo had to come up with a plan to ensure that the financial statements would be believed. In this regard, when the previous firm of auditors had to be rotated, through the instructions of Thabiso we came up with a plan and obtained the services of auditors who would just render their opinion without actually auditing the financial statements. It is because we were avoiding the external auditors discovering the under-declaration of the fuel levies was of such magnitude that it would collapse the company and they will be worried that the company engaged in such conduct,” Mr Thahanyane alleges.
Letšeng
It was also alleged by Ms Khutlisi in her court papers that Mr Moroahae defrauded Letšeng Diamonds millions while still supplying fuel to the mine.
The Directorate on Corruption and Economic Offences (DCEO) had in April this year also confirmed to be investigating Mr Moroahae for allegedly swindling M40 million from Letṧeng Diamonds while his company was supplying fuel to the mine.
However, Letšeng Diamonds lawyers, Webber Newdigate, said they reported the matter to the DCEO after “inaction” from the police who had been notified first about Mr Moroahae’s alleged fraud at Letšeng.
This is contained in a letter from Webber Newdigate to Adv Lephuthing dated 21 March 2024. The letter has been attached to Ms Khutlisi’s court papers.
“Our clients filed a complaint in 2021 regarding a large-scale theft committed against our client. Our client reported a theft case to the LMPS which was formally opened in December 2021.
“The LMPS did not make any progress as far as our client was aware and as a result, our client took the matter to the DCEO. The case was formally opened at the DCEO on or about 1 May 2023.
“Our client does not know of any material progress made by the LMPS and/or DCEO in solving the crime or making any arrests since the DCEO formally took over. Letšeng met with the DCEO representatives on numerous occasions who told our client that the DCEO had a number of priority cases to deal with and the Letšeng case was not a priority case. Our client offered its assistance as the complainant. The DCEO only started enquiring about information regarding the case in March 2024.”
Quite peculiarly, Letšeng had reported Mr Moroahae to the police in 2021 whereas Mr Moroahae reported Mr Thahanyane in October 2023 but the latter was swiftly charged. In fact, the police had defended Mr Moroahae saying, “The source of Tholo Energy funds are his lawful businesses of establishing garages, selling fuels and transporting fuels amongst others”.
Corruption
If Mr Thahanyane’s allegations are anything to go by, it is therefore not difficult to see why law enforcement agencies, particularly the police, were sitting on the humungous fraud allegations against Mr Moroahae. Their boss, Molibeli, was alleged to be on his payroll.
It is also safe to assume that the DCEO’s inaction was because Mr Moroahae is used to buying his way out of trouble.
When the Lesotho Times first reported that Molibeli was implicated in alleged fraudulent allegations at Tholo Energy, the former police commissioner went berserk. He petitioned the High Court for an order to shut down the Lesotho Times, alleging it was operating “illegally”. Justice Keketso Moahloli declined urgency of Molibeli’s patently insane application.
Molibeli is now pursuing a defamation case against the Lesotho Times, which the newspaper is vigorously defending. The equally misdirected defamation suit does not take into account that all this publication’s reporting is based on public documents filed in the courts. A media organisation cannot be held liable for reporting on public court or parliamentary proceedings.
Meanwhile, Mr Moroahae has banned the Lesotho Times from being sold in all Tholo Energy filling stations across the country in a clearly vindictive and malevolent move. He also served the Lesotho Times with a letter on 14 March 2024, also claiming defamation of character by this publication. His lawyers, Tṧabeha Associates, demanded retraction or they would sue for M20 million damages.
It is not clear when the Petroleum Fund – if at all – will probe Mr Thahanyane’s allegations which- if true – have caused enormous prejudice to the fiscus.
It also remains unclear if the DCEO will finally emerge from its slumber and probe all the alleged fraud, including Mr Moroahae’s alleged humungous theft at Letšeng Diamonds, a key player in Lesotho’s economy. The DCEO’s lackadaisical handling of the case thus far proves it is still far from being fit for purpose.
A date of hearing of the curatorship case sought against Mr Thahanyane’s assets is yet to be set.
If Mr Thahanyane’s claims that he was told by Mr Moroahae that it is the practice of fuel distributers in Lesotho to under declare levies to reap off the state are accurate, then it also puts into question the efficacy of the Petroleum Fund to perform its institutional duties.
