22 Aug 2021

Botswana will do everything to comply with international best practice regarding financial regulation and in combating money laundering, including setting up the requisite agencies.

 This was said by President Dr Mokgweetsi Masisi in Gaborone Friday during a meeting with the Eastern and Southern Africa Anti-Money Laundering Group (ESAAMLG) delegation.

“Botswana is a country which has an enviable track record in good governance and we believe we should always comply with international financial regulations. 

Owing to that, perhaps we took our eyes off the ball and assumed that we had all the necessary instruments, only to be told we did not comply,” he said. 

The meeting follows Botswana’s 2018 grey listing by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) for failure to comply with set standards.

The listing resulted in the EU labelling the country a “High Risk Third Country” in October 2020 alongside Mauritius, Ghana, Jamaica and the Bahamas.

Dr Masisi told the delegation that Botswana was caught unawares by the financial task force’s grey listing.

“Upon the realisation in 2018 that there were deficiencies that needed to be addressed, efforts were made to pass the requisite legislation in Parliament,” he said.

He said attempts had since been made to address the deficiencies identified through an action plan agreed to between the country and FATF.

FATF is a global money laundering and terrorist financing watchdog set up in 1989 through the Group of Seven Industralised States (G7) initiative.

President Masisi was accompanied by Minister of Finance and Economic Development, Ms Peggy Serame and Minister of International Affairs and Cooperation, Dr Lemogang Kwape and senior government officials.

On the side of ESAAMLG, an FATF regional chapter, the delegation comprised Ms Fikile Zitha, the Africa/Middle East group chair, Mr Phineas Moloto of South Africa and Mr Muluken Dubale from the ESAAMLG secretariat.

The ESAAMLG delegation was on a week-long visit to Botswana to assess implementation of the action plan. Ends