Botswana susceptible to terrorism financing
While Botswana has not recorded any terrorism financing cases in relation to the car dealership sector over the last five years, the country is susceptible to terrorism financing. This is according to a fresh report by the Financial Intelligence Agency (FIA) working with law enforcement agencies and local licensing authorities.
The assessment which focused on threats and vulnerabilities of Money Laundering/Terrorism Financing and Proliferation Financing ML/TF/PF was undertaken by a team of experts drawn from different stakeholders including FIA, law enforcement agencies, and licensing authorities.
“Botswana is susceptible to terrorism financing particularly because the country is a great importer of motor vehicles. According to the Botswana Police report, during the past five years from 2017 to 2021, 39 stolen vehicles from Botswana were smuggled out of the country and later intercepted in neighbouring countries including Mozambique (a country currently fighting a terror group with regions that are known as terrorist strongholds). While this had no direct link with motor dealers, the indication is that our borders may be creating a gap likely to be used by terrorists to obtain motor vehicles,” reads the report.
The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) guidance, of 2019 states that “the absence of known or suspected terrorism and TF cases does not necessarily mean that a jurisdiction has a low TF risk. Jurisdictions without TF and terrorism cases will still need to consider the likelihood of terrorist funds being raised domestically (including through willing or defrauded donors), the likelihood of transfer of funds and other assets through, or out of, the country in support of terrorism, and the use of funds for reasons other than a domestic terrorist attack.
Meanwhile, the FIA and its partners found that despite the technical compliance, the lack of TF cases made it difficult to assess the effectiveness of the legislation. They further state that the lack of TF case data relating to the involvement of motor dealers in TF creates a challenge in determining the quality of intelligence-gathering abilities in the country.
The report further states that the increasing level of the impact of terrorism in countries like Mozambique and Tanzania exposes Botswana to the risk of terrorism and/or terrorism financing.
They further state that with anyone allowed to buy cars in Botswana, it poses a danger. “Section 10 of the Road Traffic Act does not prohibit non-residents from buying cars in Botswana. This may provide an avenue for non-citizens/non-residents to register and smuggle vehicles out of the country to terrorism-prone countries. On another related matter, it was observed that some travellers did not declare money or other property when entering or leaving the country, thus creating another gap that terrorists may use to finance acts of terrorism,” reads the report.