24 Jan 2022

The emergency session of Parliament started yesterday with the aim of amending a number of bills to align Botswana’s legislation to the recommendations of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF).

The FATF grey listed Botswana in 2018, following its 2017 evaluation of the country, during which it found gaps in its anti-money laundering and Counter-terrorism financing (AML/CTF) policies. The European Union (EU) followed suit when Botswana failed to pass the 40 recommendations set by FATF to combat money laundering, financing of terrorism and financial proliferation.

The bills are, the Financial Intelligence Bill, Virtual Assets Bill, Movable Property (Security Interests) Bill, Trust Property Control Bill, Societies Bill and the Proceeds and Instruments of Crime (Amendment) Bill.

Others are the Counter Terrorism (Amendment) Bill, Criminal Procedure and Evidence (Amendment) Bill, Extradition Amendment Bill, Biological and Toxic Weapons (Prohibition), Nuclear Weapons (Prohibition) Amendment Bill, Precious and Semi-Precious Stones (Protection) and Real Estate Professional Amendment Bills.

Presenting the Financial Intelligence Amendment Bill, the Minister of Finance and Economic Development, Ms Peggy Serame said when the FATF made its evaluation in 2017, only three of Botswana’s laws were compliant with the task force’s 40 recommendations. Thirteen laws were partially compliant, 23 non-compliant, and one was rated non-applicable. In its effort to strengthen the effectiveness of its AML/CTF policies and therefore remove the country from the FATF grey listing and the EU’s black listing, Parliament passed 25 pieces of legislation in 2018, and a further six in 2019.

“All these efforts led to Botswana being removed from the grey listing in October 2021,” she said.

She said in December 2021, the country was rated compliant in seven recommendations, partially compliant in 22, non-compliant  in eight and non-applicable in one.

Minister Serame said through the amendment of the Financial Intelligence Act, the country was addressing the remaining deficiencies.

She explained that stakeholders in anti-money laundering and combating of financing of terrorism embarked on the holistic review of the Financial Intelligence Act of 2019 to address the deficiencies identified during the assessment carried out by the FATF.

The minister stated that the amendments aimed to address the 10 recommendations where the country was currently non-compliant and the eight in which it was partially compliant.

She said Botswana was committed to the undertaking the President made to the FATF in August 2021 to strengthen its AML/CFT legislation, hence the emergency parliamentary meeting to address the deficiencies.

The minister noted that the amendment would elevate Botswana’s ranking in the next evaluation period scheduled for 2024.

However, the country must submit its re-rating application by next month for peer review by the Eastern and Southern Africa Anti-Money Laundering Group (ESAAMLG) September meeting, she said.

The ESAAMLG is tasked with applying for FATF re-rating on behalf of its members.

“It is crucial that the Financial Intelligence Bill and others be enacted expeditiously for the country to submit a request for re-rating in February 2022,” she said.

The Amendments will allow the government to establish the National Coordinating Committee on Financial Intelligence (NCCFI) chaired by the Permanent Secretary to the President.

The mandate of the National Counter Terrorism Committee will in turn be aligned with the NCCFI. ENDS