The P1 billion cost of corruption
TIMOTHY LEWANIKA & MBONGENI MGUNI | Monday April 20, 2026 06:00
The National Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Risk Assessment Report released last week by the Non-Bank Financial Institutions Regulatory Authority (NBIFRA), provides a historical first estimate of the cost of corruption in the country.
“Corruption was identified as one of the prevalent money-laundering threats in the country,” researchers said. “The crime generated substantial illicit proceeds and enabled criminals to exploit public institutions and conceal the movement of illegal funds.”
Corruption was named the third most common crime involved in the generation of illegal funds domestically.
The report estimates that within corruption lie crimes such as bribery, extortion and various forms of other suspected illicit conduct, particularly around public procurement.
Surprisingly, much of the conduct was not masked in offshore accounts but in the open for investigators to pick and trail.
According to the NBFIRA’s estimates, between 2020 and 2024, the country lost P922 million to corruption.
A total of 856 corruption cases were reported over the review period, with a meager 163 cases being investigated, highlighting the slow turn of the wheels of justice in the country.
From those, just four cases were prosecuted, yielding a mere three convictions, researchers pointed out.
Even more telling, 71 cases triggered money laundering investigations, but only one prosecution and conviction followed.
“The nature of corruption allegations reported and received by the Directorate (on Corruption and Economic Crime) generally centre around procurement corruption, involving national projects and contracts as well as petty corruption,” the report found.
What stands out in the general findings around the country’s money laundering trends is the crude nature of the methods used in the attempts. Unlike complex international schemes that rely on offshore accounts and layered transactions, NBFIRA’s report observes that “the methods used to launder the proceeds were not complex in nature,” with funds “mostly self-laundered using corporate vehicles and banks.”
Researchers further found “very minimal use of tax haven-linked bank accounts,” indicating that most of the activity remained within the domestic financial system.
There was, however, a clear pattern in the proceeds being sent to South Africa and sent back to the country for “washing”. Investigators pointed to cross-border transactions into South Africa, largely for the acquisition of property, with funds later reintroduced into Botswana.
Domestically, the illicit funds were commonly converted into houses and vehicles, assets that are both visible and, in many cases, disproportionate to legitimate income.
The report also showed that the profile of offenders caught was low-level offenders, stating that “the persons committing the offence were found to be low-level offenders not linked to any serious and organised crime groups.” This suggests that corruption in Botswana is less about coordinated criminal networks and more about opportunistic actors exploiting gaps within public institutions.
Analysts said the trend could also suggest that the high-net-worth individuals or prominent officials involved in corruption were simply not being picked.
By comparison, suspected activities involving foreigners tended to be more complex.
“A company owned by Chinese nationals and purportedly engaged in the import and export of seafood opened a bank account with a local financial institution,” reads the report. “Shortly after account activation, the account began receiving high-value cash deposits, which were promptly followed by transfers to China. “This transaction pattern persisted over time, with no observable business-related expenditures apart from routine bank charges. “Within six months of opening the account, approximately P18.9 million in cash deposits and P 5 million in electronic transfers were received. “Notably, the electronic transfer originated from a company previously investigated for receiving proceeds linked to a pyramid scheme. “Of the total funds received, approximately P22 million was subsequently transferred to China. “The conductor making the deposits was not linked to the ownership/management of the company.”