CHAPTER 08:07
FINANCIAL INTELLIGENCE
ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS
SECTION
PART I
Preliminary
1. Short title
2. Interpretation
PART II
Establishment of Financial Intelligence Agency
3. Conflict with other laws
4. Operational independence
5. Appointment of Director General
6. Functions of Agency
7. Security screening of Director General, etc.
PART III
National Coordinating Committee on Financial Intelligence
8. Continuation of National Coordinating Committee on Financial Intelligence
9. Functions and duties of Committee
9A. National Coordination office
10. Declaration of terrorist or terrorist group
10A. Designation for purposes of UN
11. Meetings of Committee
12. Sub-committees of Committee
PART IV
Duty to Implement Programmes and Identify Customers
13. Obligation to conduct risk assessment
14. Obligation to implement programmes to combat commission of financial offence
15. Obligation to implement group-wide programmes
16. Duty to conduct customer due diligence
17. Reliance on third party for customer due diligence measures
18. Obligation relating to agents for money or value transfer services
19. Duty to conduct ongoing customer due diligence
20. Identification of customer
21. Enhanced due diligence
22. Enhanced due diligence measures relating to prominent influential persons
23. Enhanced due diligence measures relating to beneficiaries of life insurance services
24. Enhanced due diligence measures relating to cross-border correspondent banking
25. Prohibition of anonymous accounts
26. Prohibition of shell banks
27. Prohibition of establishing or maintaining business relationship with terrorist or member of terrorist group
28. Simplified customer due diligence measures
29. Monitoring complex, unusual and high risk transactions
30. Failure to satisfactory complete customer due diligence
PART V
Keeping of Records
31. Keeping of records
32. Period of record keeping
33. Records kept by third party
34. Admissibility of electronic records
35. Offences relating to records
36. Access to records of specified party
37. Analysis of information
PART VI
Reporting Obligation and Cash Transactions
38. Reporting of suspicious transactions
39. Cash transactions above prescribed limit
40. [Repealed.]
41. Conveyance of cash
42. Wire transfer
43. Content of suspicious transaction report
44. Continuation of transaction
45. Interruption of transaction by Agency
46. Offences relating to reporting
47. Indemnity of person making report
48. Offences for non-compliance
PART VII
Referral, Supervision and Exchange of Information
49. Obligations of supervisory authorities
50. Offence for failure to prevent criminals from holding controlling interest
51. Obligations of accountable institutions
52. Receipt of information by Agency
52A Access to database
53. Referral of information by Agency
54. Referral of information by supervisory authority
55. Membership of international financial organisation
56. Certificate issued by Agency
57. Information held by Agency
PART VIII
General Provisions
58. Confidentiality by Director General, etc.
59. Confidentiality by third parties
60. Indemnity of Director General, etc.
61. Power to amend Schedules
62. Annual report
63. Regulations
64. Repeal of Cap. 08:07
65. Savings
Act 6, 2009,
S.I. 13, 2010,
S.I. 68, 2013,
Act 7, 2018,
S.I. 111, 2018,
S.I. 190, 2018,
S.I. 6, 2019,
Act 11, 2019,
S.I. 103, 2019,
Act 18, 2021,
S.I. 95, 2021,
Act 2, 2022,
Act 1, 2025,
S.I. 6, 2025,
S.I. 25, 2025.
An Act to re-enact with amendments the Financial Intelligence Act; to continue the establishment of the Financial Intelligence Agency and re-constitute the National Coordinating Committee on Financial Intelligence as a high level committee; to provide for third parties to perform certain customer due diligence measures on behalf of specified parties; to enable the Financial Intelligence Agency to initiate an analysis of information based on information in its own possession or information received from other sources to establish a suspicious transaction, and for matters connected therewith and incidental thereto.
[Date of Commencement: 25th February, 2022]
PART I
Preliminary (ss 1-2)
This Act may be cited as the Financial Intelligence Act.
In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires—
"accountable institution" means a person referred to in Schedule III, its branches and subsidiaries;
[1 of 2025, s. 3.]
"act of terrorism" has the same meaning assigned to it under the Counter-Terrorism Act (Cap. 08:08);
"Agency" means the Financial Intelligence Agency continued under section 4;
"anonymous account" means an account which cannot be linked to any person or be traced to any customer;
"ammunition" has the same meaning assigned to it under the Arms and Ammunition Act (Cap. 24:01);
"arms" has the same meaning assigned to it under the Arms and Ammunition Act;
"beneficial owner" means a natural person who ultimately owns or controls a customer or a natural person on whose behalf a transaction is being conducted, including a natural person who exercises ultimate effective control over a legal person or arrangement, such that—
(a) in relation to a legal person—
(i) is a natural person who either directly or indirectly holds such percentage of shares, as may be prescribed, voting rights or other ownership interest:
Provided that to the extent that there is doubt as to whether the person identified hereunder is the beneficial owner or where no natural person is identified as the beneficial owner, the natural person exercising control of the legal person through other means shall be the beneficial owner, or
(ii) is a person who holds the position of senior managing official where no natural person was identified as a beneficial owner in terms of subparagraph (i);
(b) in relation to a trust, is—
(i) the settlor,
(ii) a trustee,
(iii) a protector, if any,
(iv) a beneficiary of a trust, or a class of beneficiaries, where the individuals benefiting from the trust have yet to be determined, or
(v) any other natural person exercising ultimate effective control over the trust by means of direct or indirect ownership or by other means, such as when he or she has the power, alone or jointly with another person or with the consent of another person, to—
(aa) dispose of, advance, lend, invest, pay or apply trust property or property of the trust,
(bb) vary or terminate the trust,
(cc) add or remove a person as a beneficiary or from a class of beneficiaries,
(dd) appoint or remove a trustee or give another person control over the trust, or
(ee) direct, withhold consent or overrule the exercise of a power referred to in subparagraphs (aa)-(dd);
(c) in relation to other legal arrangements similar to trusts, is the natural person holding equivalent or similar positions to those referred to in paragraph (b); and
(d) in the case of insurance, is the ultimate beneficiary of proceeds of a life insurance policy or other related investment services when an insured event covered by the policy occurs;
"business relationship" means any arrangement made between a customer and a specified party or accountable institution where the purpose or effect of the arrangement is to facilitate an occasional, frequent, habitual or regular course of dealing between the customer and specified party or accountable institution;
"cash" means coin and paper money of Botswana or of another country that is designated as a legal tender and that circulates as, and is customarily used and accepted as, a medium of exchange in the country of issue and includes fiat currency as defined in the Virtual Assets Act;
[1 of 2025, s. 3.]
"close associate" means a person who is closely connected to another person socially, professionally or through business interests or activities;
"Committee" means the National Coordinating Committee on Financial Intelligence continued under section 8;
"comparable body" means a body outside Botswana with functions similar to those of the Agency;
"competent authority" means a public authority with designated responsibilities for combating financial offences;
"competent United Nations body" means—
(a) the Security Council Sanctions Committee established pursuant to the following Resolutions—
(i) Resolution 1267 of 1999,
(ii) Resolution 1989 of 2011, and
(iii) Resolution 2253 of 2015;
(b) the Security Council Sanctions Committee established pursuant to Resolution 1988 of 2011;
(c) the Security Council Sanctions Committee established pursuant to Resolution 1718 of 2006; and
(d) the Security Council when it acts under Chapter VII of the Charter of the United Nations in adopting targeted financial sanctions related to the prevention, suppression, disruption and financing of the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction;
"correspondent banking" means the provision of banking services by one bank to another;
"councillor" has the same meaning assigned to it under the Local Government Act (Cap. 40:01);
"credible sources" means any independent and reliable source of information such as international institutions, authoritative publications and mutual evaluation or detailed assessment reports;
"customer" includes, a natural person, unincorporated body, legal arrangement, legal person or body corporate who has entered into or is in the process of entering into a—
(a) business relationship; or
(b) single transaction,
with a specified party or an accountable institution;
"customer due diligence" means the process where relevant information about the customer is collected and evaluated for any potential risk of commission of a financial offence;
"designated person" means any person, entity or group that has been designated by a competent United Nations body as a person, entity or group against whom member states must take action for the prevention and combating of any activity specified in the applicable resolution;
"Director General" means the Director General of the Agency;
"Directorate" means the Directorate of Intelligence and Security Service established under the Intelligence and Security Service Act (Cap. 23:02);
"Egmont Group" means an international body of financial intelligence units that serves as a platform for the secure exchange of expertise and financial intelligence to combat financial offences;
"enhanced due diligence" means higher level of due diligence required to mitigate the increased risk of commission of financial offence;
"financial institution" includes a bank as defined under the Banking Act (Cap. 46:04), a building society as defined under the Building Societies Act (Cap. 42:03) or a non-bank financial institution as defined under the Non-Bank Financial Institutions Regulatory Authority Act (Cap. 46:08);
"financial offence" means money laundering, financing of terrorism, proliferation financing or financing illicit dealing in arms or ammunition;
[1 of 2025, s. 2.]
"fund" has the same meaning assigned to it under the Proceeds and Instruments of Crime Act (Cap. 08:03);
"group-wide" means a group that consists of a parent company or any other legal person exercising control and co-ordinating functions over the members of the group for the application of group supervision, together with branches or subsidiaries that are subject to anti-money laundering, counter-financing of terrorism, counter proliferation financing policies and procedures at the group level;
[1 of 2025, s. 3.]
"guidance notes" means guidance, instructions or recommendations issued by the Agency or supervisory authority to assist a specified party or an accountable institution to comply with the provisions of this Act;
"high risk business" means a business—
(a) incorporated in a high risk jurisdiction;
(b) having a business relationship with a business situated in a high risk jurisdiction;
(c) dealing in goods, services or commodities that present a high risk for financial offence;
(d) that has a business relationship with other businesses that appear on the sanction list;
(e) that is subject to or has been a subject of an investigation by an investigatory or supervisory authority; or
(f) that is managed by a person who is the subject of an investigation by an investigatory or supervisory authority;
"high risk jurisdiction" means a country that—
(a) is identified by the Financial Action Task Force or any such similar body as having no or weak regime on anti-money laundering, counter-proliferation financing and counter-illicit dealing in arms or ammunition;
(b) is subject to sanctions, embargoes or similar measures issued by the United Nations Security Council; or
(c) provides funding or support for terrorist activities or finances proliferation or illicit dealings in arms or ammunition or a country that allows high risk business;
"immediate member of the family" means a spouse, son, daughter, sibling or parent;
"Kgosi" has the same meaning assigned to it under the Bogosi Act (Cap. 41:01);
"illicit dealing in arms or ammunition" means a contravention of any of the provisions of Parts IV to VI of the Arms and Ammunition Act;
"investigatory authority" means an authority empowered by an Act of Parliament to investigate or prosecute unlawful activities;
"judicial officer" has the same meaning assigned to it under the Penal Code (Cap. 08:01);
"legal arrangement" means trusts or other similar arrangement;
"money laundering" has the same meaning assigned to it under the Proceeds and Instruments of Crime Act;
"non-profit organisation" means a legal person or arrangement or organisation that primarily engages in raising or disbursing funds for purposes such as charitable, religious, cultural, educational, social or fraternal purposes or for the carrying out of other types of good works;
[1 of 2025, s. 3.]
"NBC weapons" means—
(a) nuclear explosive device as defined in the Nuclear Weapons (Prohibition) Act (Cap. 24:05);
(b) biological or toxin weapons as defined in the Biological and Toxin Weapons (Prohibition) Act (Cap. 24:06); or
(c) chemical weapons as defined in the Chemical Weapons (Prohibition) Act (Cap. 24:04);
"national risk assessment" means appropriate steps that the country takes to identify and assess financial offence risk for the country on an ongoing basis, in order to—
(a) inform potential changes to the country's anti-money laundering, counter-financing of terrorism, counter-proliferation financing regime and counter-illicit dealings in arms or ammunition, including legislative changes and other measures; and
(b) assist in allocation and prioritisation of anti-money laundering, counter-financing of terrorism, counter-proliferation financing and counter-illicit dealings in arms or ammunition resources;
"nationally listed person" means a person, entity or structured group that the Minister has by order, issued under section 10(2), listed as a person, entity or group against whom authorities in Botswana must take action for the prevention and combating of terrorism, terrorism financing or proliferation financing ;
"proliferation" has the same meaning assigned to it under the Counter Terrorism Act;
"prominent influential person" means, in relation to—
(a) a foreign prominent influential person, a person who is or has been entrusted with prominent public function by a foreign country;
(b) a domestic prominent influential person, a person who is or has been entrusted with domestically prominent public functions and includes—
(i) a President,
(ii) a Vice-President,
(iii) a Cabinet Minister,
(iv) a Speaker of the National Assembly,
(v) a Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly,
(vi) a member of the National Assembly,
(vii) a senior government official,
(viii) a judicial officer,
(ix) a Kgosi as defined under the Bogosi Act (Cap. 41:01),
(x) a senior executive of a private entity where the private entity is of such turnover as may be prescribed,
(xi) a senior executive of a public body,
(xii) a senior executive of a political party,
(xiii) senior executives of international organisations operating in Botswana, or
(xiv) such person as may be prescribed; and
(c) international organisation, a person who is or has been entrusted with a prominent function by an international organisation;
[1 of 2025, s. 3.]
"property" has the same meaning assigned to it under the Proceeds and Instruments of Crime Act;
"protector" has the same meaning assigned to it under the Trust Property Control Act (Cap. 31:05);
"risk assessment" in relation to specified party, means the undertaking of appropriate steps to identify, assess and understand the risk of financial offence to which its business is subject;
"risk management systems" means policies, technologies, procedures and controls, informed by a risk assessment, that enable a specified party to establish the risk indicators used to characterise customers, products and services to different categories of risk (low, medium or high risk) with the aim of applying proportionate mitigating measures in relation to the potential risk of financial offence in each category of risk established;
"senior executive of a political party" means any person who is the president, vice-president, chairperson, deputy-chairperson, secretary or treasurer of such political party or who is a member of the committee or governing body thereof, or who holds in such political party any office or position similar to any of those mentioned above;
"senior executive of a private entity" means a director, controlling officer, partner or any person who is concerned with the management of the private entity's affairs;
"senior executive of a public body" means a senior officer of an organisation, establishment or body created by or under any enactment and includes any company in which Government has equity shares or any organisation or body where public moneys are used;
"senior government official" means a public officer in senior management appointed under the Public Service Act (Cap. 26:01) or any senior officer appointed under any enactment;
"senior management" with respect to a legal person or legal arrangement means a director, controlling officer, partner, protector, trustee or any person who is concerned with the management of its affairs;
"settlor" has the same meaning assigned to it under the Trust Property Control Act (Cap. 31:05);
"shell bank" has the same meaning assigned to it under the Banking Act (Cap. 46:04);
"simplified due diligence" means the lowest level of due diligence that can be completed on a customer;
"specified party" means a person listed in Schedule I to this Act, including branches or subsidiaries of that person;
"supervisory authority" means a competent authority designated under Schedule II with responsibilities aimed at ensuring compliance by specified parties or accountable institutions, except that the Agency shall act as supervisory authority for a specified party or accountable institution that does not have a supervisory authority;
"suspicious transaction" means a transaction which—
(a) is inconsistent with a customer's known legitimate business, personal activities or with the normal business for the type of account which the customer holds;
(b) gives rise to a reasonable suspicion that it may involve the commission of a financial offence;
(c) gives rise to a reasonable suspicion that it may involve property connected to the commission of a financial offence or involves property used to commit a financial offence whether or not the property represents the proceeds of an offence;
(d) is made in circumstances of unusual or unjustified complexity;
(e) appears to have no economic justification or lawful objective;
(f) is made by or on behalf of a person whose identity has not been established to the satisfaction of the person with whom the transaction is made; or
(g) gives rise to suspicion for any other reason;
"tip off" means to inform a person suspected of committing a financial offence that—
(a) a suspicious transaction has been reported; or
(b) he or she is under investigation for commission of a financial offence, where the tipping off is likely to prejudice—
(i) the investigation, or
(ii) the investigation to the person suspected of committing a financial offence;
"transaction" means an arrangement between a customer and a specified party or accountable institution, and includes the following—
(a) a deposit, withdrawal or transfer between accounts, opening an account, issuing a passbook, renting a safe deposit box, exchange of currency, loan, extension of credit, purchase or sale of any stock, bond, certificate of deposit or other monetary instrument or investment security or any other payment, transfer or delivery by or through or to any person by whatever means effected;
(b) an arrangement between persons; or
(c) a proposed transaction;
"trust" has the same meaning assigned to it under Trust Property Control Act;
"trustee" has the same meaning assigned to it under the Trust Property Control Act;
"trust and company service provider" means a person or business that is not covered under this Act, and which as a business, provides any of the following services—
(a) formation agent of legal persons;
(b) acting or arranging for another person to act as a director or secretary of a company, a partner of a partnership or a similar position in relation to other legal persons;
(c) providing a registered office, business address or accommodation, correspondence or administrative address for a legal person, a partnership or any other arrangement;
(d) acting as or arranging for another to act as a trustee or a trust or performing the equivalent function for another form of legal arrangement;
(e) acting as or arranging for another person to act as a nominee shareholder for another person;
"ultimate effective control" means where ownership or control is exercised through a chain of ownership or by means of control other than direct control;
"virtual asset" has the same meaning assigned to it under the Virtual Assets Act (Act No. 3 of 2021); and
"virtual asset service provider" has the same meaning assigned to it under the Virtual Assets Act.
PART II
Establishment of Financial Intelligence Agency (ss 3-7)
In the event of any conflict or inconsistency between the provisions of this Act and any other law on combating the commission of financial offences, the provisions of this Act shall take precedence.
(1) The Financial Intelligence Agency is hereby continued under this section.
[1 of 2025, s. 4.]
(2) The Agency shall consist of a Director General and such other officers of the Agency, as may be necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the Agency.
[1 of 2025, s. 4.]
(3) The Agency shall be operationally independent in pursuit of its primary objectives, and in the performance of its functions under this Act, shall act without fear, favour or prejudice or direction of any person, authority or institution.
[1 of 2025, s. 4.]
5. Appointment of Director General
(1) There shall be a Director General who shall be appointed by the President on such terms and conditions as the President may, on the recommendation of the Minister, determine.
(2) The Director General shall be a person of recognised experience in one or more of the following disciplines—
(a) finance;
(b) law enforcement;
(c) law; or
(d) any other related field.
(3) A person appointed as a Director General shall hold office for a five year renewable term or until he or she attains the age of 60 years, whichever is the earlier.
(4) A person holding the office of Director General may be removed from office for—
(a) inability to perform the functions of his or her office arising from infirmity of body, mind or any other cause;
(b) gross misconduct; or
(c) incompetence.
(5) The provisions of section 113(3), (4) and (5) of the Constitution shall apply with necessary modifications to the removal of a person holding office of Director General.
(6) The Director General shall be responsible for the direction and administration of the Agency.
(7) The Director General shall appoint in writing, an officer of the Agency as an examiner for the purposes of determining compliance with this Act.
(8) The Director General shall have the power to appoint or re-assign staff in critical functions including senior management.
[1 of 2025, s. 5.]
(1) The Agency shall be the central entity responsible for requesting, receiving, analysing and disseminating, spontaneously or when requested, to an investigatory authority, supervisory authority, comparable body or competent authority, disclosures of financial information—
(a) concerning a suspicious transaction;
(b) required by or under any enactment in order to counter the commission of a financial offence; or
(c) related to the financing of an act of terrorism, proliferation of NBC weapons or illicit dealing in arms or ammunition.
(2) For the purposes of subsection (1), the Agency shall—
(a) collect, process, analyse and interpret all information disclosed to it and obtained by it under this Act;
(b) inform, advise and collaborate with an investigatory authority or supervisory authority in accordance with this Act;
(c) forward financial intelligence reports to an investigatory authority;
(d) give guidance to a specified party or accountable institution, regarding the performance by the specified party of duties under the Act;
[1 of 2025, s. 6(a).]
(e) provide feedback to a specified party or accountable institution regarding a report made in accordance with this Act;
(f) exchange information with a comparable body or competent authority;
(g) call for and obtain further information from persons or bodies that are required to supply or provide information in terms of this Act or any law;
(h) communicate the list of high risk countries to specified parties, accountable institutions and supervisory authorities;
(i) advise on concerns about weaknesses in the anti-money laundering, counter-financing of terrorism systems of other countries, in such manner as may be prescribed;
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