Financial Crime World

Financial Institutions’ Role in Preventing Financial Crimes in Botswana Highlighted

Gaborone, March 14, 2017

Botswana has made significant progress in strengthening its financial system by completing a national anti-money laundering (AML) and counter-financing of terrorism (CFT) risk assessment. The National Risk Assessment (NRA) was conducted with the support of the World Bank, making it the eleventh country in Africa to undertake such an assessment.

International Obligation

The international obligation to conduct an NRA was adopted by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) in 2012. The aim is to identify risks and threats faced by a country and target scarce resources to mitigate them. Botswana requested assistance from the World Bank’s Financial Integrity Unit, which developed a National AML/CFT Risk Assessment Tool to aid countries in conducting such assessments.

Conduct of the Assessment

The NRA involved over 50 officials representing 20 collaborating ministries and agencies. The team collected and analyzed data to identify and prioritize main money laundering and terrorist financing risks faced by Botswana. The assessment considered threats and vulnerabilities, with:

  • Threats: existing circumstances that cannot be eliminated and must be mitigated
  • Vulnerabilities: internal systems that can be improved

Identified Risks and Threats

The assessment identified the following risks and threats:

  • Higher levels of criminality linked to wildlife poaching
  • Weak controls in the diamond sector
  • Auto theft
  • Financial crimes such as tax evasion and corruption
  • Weaknesses in national AML/CFT control systems, including legal frameworks and implementation effectiveness

Way Forward

Botswana’s Deputy Secretary for Economic and Finance Policy, Elaina Gonsalves, expressed gratitude to the World Bank for its assistance throughout the project. She emphasized the importance of strengthening the country’s legal framework, which is the first line of defense in fighting money laundering and terrorist financing.

The identified risks and threats will help officials strengthen country systems and apply appropriate control measures to combat:

  • Money laundering
  • Terrorist financing
  • Related underlying criminal activities, including corruption

This system will contribute to stronger economic development, shared prosperity, and reduced poverty by stemming illicit financing flows.