22 Jun 2015

Members of Ntlo ya Dikgosi have been urged to encourage their merafe to be cautious and report any suspicious cases of money laundering. 

Briefing dikgosi on money laundering and funding of terrorism, the Director of Financial Intelligence Agency (FIA) Dr Abraham Sethibe said purchase of land and cattle could be used for money laundering as transactions are done through cash rather than cheques or electronic fund transfers. 

He said money laundering happens where one person, after accruing cash either through corruption, robbery or sale of drugs, purchases a piece of land and later sells it to legitimize his money.

He said people should be asked to state where and how they accrued their income and cash transactions should be avoided. 

He said any suspicious cases should be reported to either his office or the police, adding that they work with other agencies such as the Directorate of Corruption and Economic Crime (DCEC), Directorate of Intelligence and Security Services (DISS) Directorate of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Botswana Unified Revenue Services (BURS) and Non-Banking Financial Institutions Regulatory Authority (NBFIRA). He said failure to report a case attracts a fine of not less than P500 000. 

The FIA is a member of an international organisation, Financial Action Task Force based in France and Dr Sethibe said local laws against money laundering should be in accordance with the best international practice. He also said laws are being reviewed to ensure loop holes do not exist in order to protect Botswana against money laundering and funding of terrorism. 

He said the economy stands to lose if Botswana fails to adhere to international practices and becomes a haven for money laundering and finance of terrorism activities adding that the country’s financial institutions might be blacklisted, making it difficult for Botswana to trade with other countries. 

Furthermore, Botswana might also fail to attract foreign direct investment, and said some countries have experienced this difficult situation. 

He said it was for these reasons that Botswana passed three bills in parliament last year aimed at fighting against money laundering and funding of terrorism. 

He explained that proceeds of money laundering can now be forfeited by the state even when an offender has not been found guilty adding that they have found cases of corruption, drug dealing, poaching and real estate to be vulnerable to money laundering. However, real estate agents are required by law to report any transactions that involve huge amounts of cash. 

Responding to the comments, Kgosi Mosadi of Balete said it was difficult to guard against land sales as they are either done through lawyers or people involved refuse to divulge correct information. 

Kgosi Monyamane of Kgalagadi North said since the FIA has realized Botswana is a cash based economy, something has to be done to ensure all business owners have bank accounts and keep proper accounts to ensure they do not encourage money laundering and funding of terrorism activities. 

Kgosi Moipolai of North East said exorbitant bank charges discourage people from undertaking electronic fund transfer. ENDS