Botswana flags P6.29bn in illicit money flows
Lewanika Timothy | Wednesday April 15, 2026 10:00
The assessment, coordinated by the country's financial authorities, including the central bank and enforcement agencies such as the Financial Intelligence Authority (FIA), consolidates sector-level risks into a single national framework. This year, the report identified five dominant domestic predicate offences generating illicit proceeds over the review period: tax crimes, obtaining by false pretence, corruption, fraud, and stealing by servant.
Tax crimes emerged as the highest-risk domestic source of illicit funds, driven largely by underdeclaration of income and non-remittance of PAYE.
From the P6.2 billion, tax crimes alone contributed to P1.7 billion, followed by obtaining by false pretence at P955.8 million, corruption at P922.1 million, stealing by servant at P380.5 million, and fraud at P6.8 million.
“Tax Crimes posed the highest ML risk, with underdeclaration of income and non-remittance of PAYE emerging as the largest sources of illicit proceeds,” the report said.
Wildlife crime and drug trafficking remain the main external money laundering threats. Wildlife offences are assessed as high risk, driven by unlawful possession of elephant tusks and rhino poaching, whilst drug trafficking is rated medium, reflecting its transnational character.
“Wildlife crimes and drug trafficking were assessed as significant external ML threats due to their transnational nature,” the assessment noted.
The report also found that proceeds of crime were primarily laundered through the banking sector, making it the main exposure point for the financial system.
“Most suspected predicate offences proceeds are ultimately channelled through the banking sector, making it the primary channel for ML exposure,” it said.
Financial institutions, fund managers, securities firms and money value transfer services are identified as key facilitation channels, alongside rising abuse of mobile networks and social media platforms in cyber-enabled fraud, identity fraud, and social engineering scams.
The assessment shows proceeds are increasingly integrated into movable assets such as motor vehicles, reflecting evolving laundering patterns.
The findings build on earlier national and international AML/CFT reviews, which have repeatedly highlighted similar structural risks in Botswana’s financial system, particularly exposure through banking channels, financial intermediaries, and high-risk predicate offences such as tax evasion, fraud, and corruption.