SEZA brings intelligence services into investor vetting as Botswana moves to detect financial crime, integrity and security threats before licences are issued
BONGANI MALUNGA
Investor screening in Botswana’s Special Economic Zones has gained an additional security layer after SEZA Botswana brought the Directorate of Intelligence and Security (DIS) into its vetting process, tightening scrutiny of businesses seeking to establish operations in the country.
SEZA Botswana and the DIS signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Wednesday that will allow the two institutions to collaborate on investor screening and vetting, effectively adding intelligence-based security assessments to the checks prospective investors already undergo.
The arrangement is being advanced as an early warning system, designed to identify financial crime, integrity, reputational and national security risks before potentially problematic investors gain a foothold within Botswana’s special economic zones.
THE FULL PICTURE
The agreement also amounts to an acknowledgement by SEZA that conventional information supplied through licence applications may not always provide the full picture about companies and individuals seeking investment approvals.
Speaking at the signing ceremony, SEZA Botswana Acting Chief Executive Officer Goabaone Masike said cooperation with the DIS would strengthen due diligence and help uncover risks that may not be immediately visible from information submitted by applicants.
The DIS will therefore provide an added security assessment where SEZA’s own information-gathering and verification capabilities may not be sufficient.
APPROPRIATE DUE DILIGENCE
“Whilst we appreciate that investment attraction remains a central component of our economy and to our mandate, we recognise that it must be accompanied by appropriate due diligence to safeguard the integrity, security and reputation of Botswana’s investment environment. It is therefore important that investors and entities seeking to operate within the SEZ framework are subjected to appropriate scrutiny and where necessary during the course of their operations,” Masike noted.
The arrangement potentially extends scrutiny beyond the point at which investors first apply for licences. Masike’s remarks indicate that entities may also face checks during their operations where circumstances warrant further examination.
ADDITIONAL BARRIER
The intervention creates another barrier for Botswana against investors who could potentially use seemingly legitimate investment structures to conceal financial crime, questionable ownership structures or other integrity risks.
DIS Acting Director General Aobakwe Monamo described the partnership as a preventative security mechanism rather than merely another administrative check. “This partnership is positioned as an early warning system that is meant to detect and deter potential threats that may affect the integrity of investment in our country.”
The agreement effectively places intelligence-led vetting alongside SEZA’s investment attraction mandate, signalling that attracting capital will increasingly be accompanied by deeper scrutiny of who ultimately stands behind it.