Government, through the National Coordinating Committee on Financial Intelligence (NCCFI) and Financial Intelligence Agency (FIA), has rolled out the second National Risk Assessment (NRA).
Expected to conclude in August 2023, the assessment will focus on issues of money laundering, financing terrorism and proliferation.
According to the Chairperson of NCCFI, Emmah Peloetletse, conducting the NRA properly will assist Botswana to effectively implement international standards and keep the country well away from the dreaded grey list red zone.
In October 2018, Botswana was grey listed by the Financial Action Task Force for shortcomings in its financial regulations.
She remained on this list for three years, finally being removed last October after efforts and improvements to money laundering regulations were made.
During the gloomy grey listing ‘era’, the country faced several difficulties, including: delays in external payments due to enhanced due diligence imposed on all financial transactions, fewer to no foreign direct investors due to low business confidence and the country’s trading competitive advantage was dented.
Ultimately, the local economy was negatively affected, a predicament which Botswana does not want to experience again!
“The work ahead of us is a complex one but it is by no means insurmountable if we all pull together! This project needs the commitment and support of all the stakeholders. With the improved tools we are determined more than ever to get it done within a year as opposed to the two years we took to complete the first NRA,” said Peloetletse.
Calling for unity, she added, “I urge all stakeholders to double their efforts and invest in this assignment because our economy can only thrive in an environment free from money laundering and terrorism financing. So this NRA will help us to prevent and combat money laundering, terrorism financing and proliferation financing and avoid our jurisdiction being used for commission of financial offences.”
Botswana’s first NRA was launched in March 2015 with the assessment undertaken by a team which was assisted by the World Bank. Back then, the team used data covering a five-year period from 2010 to 2014 and assessment was concluded in 2017.