The recent Financial Intelligence Agency (FIA) report has flagged an alarming surge in fraud-related activities in Botswana, with online scams, employee theft, and pyramid schemes emerging as key threats to the country’s financial integrity.
According to the FIA’s 2023/24 Annual Report, conducted between April 1st 2023 and March 31st, 2024, revealed that fraud was ranked second of the top three predicate offences reported through Suspicious Transaction Reports (STRs), preceded by Tax Crimes and followed by illegal Deposit Taking.
Fraud accounted for a significant portion of the 933 STRs submitted during the year. This reflects a dramatic 65.1 percent increase compared to 565 STRs received in 2022/23. The report revealed that these cases were increasingly being perpetrated online.
“The most common type of fraud were online scams and pyramids marketed mainly through various social media platforms,” the FIA report stated.
Victims were often lured with promises of quick returns and manipulated through impersonation tactics. These fraudulent ventures frequently presented themselves as forex or investment opportunities but were designed to siphon funds under false pretenses.
One example cited in the report involves fraudulent individuals or entities who “lured unsuspecting individuals into depositing money in to their ventures promising them high returns.” These cases often took the form of Ponzi-style schemes or romance scams, where emotional manipulation was used to extract money from victims. These activities were not limited to one sector; however, the banking sector accounted for 88.7 percent of all STRs filed with the Agency, indicating that banks remain on the frontline of detecting and reporting such crimes.
Employee theft and insider manipulation also featured prominently. The FIA notes that some STRs were linked to “theft by employees” who exploited internal access to commit fraud against their employers. These cases ranged from unauthorized transfers to deliberate manipulation of financial records. The report also mentions tax-related fraud schemes, particularly the use of personal accounts for business transactions and externalisation of business proceeds. “Tax crimes included the use of personal accounts for business transactions and the externalisation of business proceeds,” the Agency reported.
Interestingly, although the number of fraud-related reports increased, the total value of STRs dropped significantly from BWP 2.0 billion in the previous year to BWP 426.7 million in 2023/24. The FIA attributes this decline to a shift from large-scale fraud operations to smaller, more frequent incidents. “The current period saw a surge in smaller, more frequent illegal deposit-taking activities, which, although higher in number, involved comparatively smaller amounts of money per transaction.”
To counter these developments, the FIA ramped up outreach and training efforts aimed at educating reporting entities and the public. It continues to encourage vigilance among financial institutions, law enforcement, and everyday citizens. In addition, the Agency disseminated 79 financial intelligence reports to competent authorities for further investigation and legal action.
The report underscores that fighting fraud is not the sole responsibility of government agencies, but a shared obligation. “I have no doubt, that the FIA will continue to strengthen and develop capabilities to effectively discharge their mandate,” said FIA Director General Bopelokgale Soko in her remarks.
As Botswana looks ahead to its next mutual evaluation in 2027, the FIA’s emphasis on fraud prevention, financial intelligence, and inter-agency cooperation positions the country to better respond to an evolving landscape of financial crime.
