Gov't freezes P183m in fraud-linked assets
Lewanika Timothy | Monday May 4, 2026 06:00
As at January this year, the figure was standing at P179 million, showing that there was an uptick in detectable assets that are believed to be the proceeds of fraud, money laundering, or corruption.
Delivering the findings of the recent country risk assessment report on money laundering and financial terrorism, a task team comprising of the country’s financial watchdogs, investigators, and prosecuting authorities, this week revealed that the wheels of justice were starting to turn on ill-gotten assets that are proceeds of crime.
The team further revealed that they were under immense pressure to clean up the financial system ahead of the 2027 Financial Action Task Force (FATF) assessment that is to assess the country’s Anti-Money Laundering (AML) protocols.
Deputy register in the Office of the Receiver, Antoinette Kula, told BusinessWeek that as the country tightens the screws against financial crimes, the amount of assets being frozen whilst investigations continue having been rising with most of these funds held in movable and immovable properties.
“As of January this year, assets frozen amounted to P179 million and the latest figures show that we are at over P184 million as prosecutions continue,” she said.
The findings are in line with the findings of the money laundering and financial terrorism risk assessment, which found that proceeds of financial crime in Botswana were often disposed as movable and immovable assets.
The Directorate of Public Prosecutions earlier this month revealed that it had recovered money linked to criminal activities, revealing that more than P50 million had been recovered as proceeds of crime. The P50 million represents assets to be forfeited as per court orders.
The DPP director, Kgosietsile Ngakaagae, said the recovery of funds is part of ongoing efforts to ensure that crime does not result in financial gain.
“Taking away illegally obtained money is an important part of the justice process. We are making progress in ensuring that crime does not pay,” he said.
According to Ngakaagae, the total amount recovered so far exceeds P50 million, including approximately P17 million linked to the Ecoplexus matter. He explained that the recovery demonstrates that authorities are actively tracking and reclaiming funds obtained through unlawful means.
According to the Non-Bank Financial Institutions Regulatory Authority’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 meagre 163 cases being investigated, highlighting the slow turn of the wheels of justice in the country.