20 Feb 2017

The director general of the Directorate on Corruption and Economic Crime says the launch of the National Risk Assessment (NRA) report by the country is a wise economic move which needs to be applauded.

Launching the report on Thursday in Gaborone during a Financial Management Workshop, Ms Rose Seretse said the NRA was a deliberate self-check to make sure that the country understood the money laundering, financing of terrorism and proliferation of arms of mass destruction risks facing the country.

“We do this by identifying threats and vulnerabilities using the model designed by the World Bank. The reason being that if we do not do this, we will be caught unaware,” she said.

She noted that knowing the nature and level of Anti-Money Laundering and Counter Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) risks facing the country would enable stakeholders and policy makers to prioritise the high risk areas and allocate the limited resources accordingly.

Ms Seretse also said the NRA report would serve as a guide for the designated AML/CFT supervisory bodies expected, in terms of international standards and practices, to apply a risk based approach in their supervision.

She noted that the government was committed to ensuring that Botswana’s AML/CFT regime was consistent and complied with the international standards.

“To ensure effectiveness, the government introduced processes, programmes and procedures including allocation of resources to ensure effective implementation of the anti-money laundering laws, most of which were passed by Parliament in 2014,” she said.

Ms Seretse said “we are confident that given the robust legal and regulatory framework and intensity of training as confirmed by NRA results, Botswana is on track and right path. BOPA