Key anti-money laundering law takes effect
Friday, February 22, 2019
Last Wednesday, the European Union added Botswana to a list of 23 jurisdictions it intends to approve soon as a global blacklist for money laundering and terrorism financing. Other countries on the list include Nigeria, Iran, Pakistan and Panama.
The beneficial ownership law was passed last year and was expected to kick off in June 2019, to coincide with a countrywide company re-registration exercise, moving all entities to an online platform allowing public perusal of shareholding and beneficial shareholding.
The recent disclosure by the IEC that 2,513 registrations have been turned down due to various irregularities should prompt all Batswana to meticulously review the voters' rolls and address concerns about rejected registrations.The disparities flagged by the IEC are troubling and emphasise the significance of rigorous voter registration processes.Out of the rejected registrations, 29 individuals were disqualified due to non-existent Omang...