Tighter 'dirty money' laws squeeze banks, insurers

The new Financial Intelligence Act kicked in on September 4, officially repealing its 10-year old predecessor whose loopholes eventually led to the greylisting of Botswana by global money laundering authorities.

Last June, Parliament passed amendments to tighten the old Act. But apparently under pressure from global anti-money laundering authorities, the Finance Ministry decided to repeal the entire Act and introduce the new one that kicked in earlier this month.