GABORONE, Feb. 20 (Xinhua) -- Botswana has amended its Financial Intelligence Agency Act to crack down on money laundering and terrorism financing.
Hilda Mocuminyane, registrar of Companies and Business Names at Companies and Intellectual Property Authority, said on Wednesday that the amendments require companies to register all of their beneficiaries and their details.
She said beneficial ownership registration is not peculiar to Botswana, as corporate registries are a norm around the world.
"Beneficial ownership registry is a key tool for increasing transparency of the companies register, curbing corruption and reducing instances of money laundering and terrorism financing through identifying the real owners of registered companies," said Mocuminyane.
Mocuminyane said the new amendments requires applicants to provide the names, addresses and details of all beneficial owners of the company.
Last week, the European Union placed Botswana and 22 other countries on its blacklist for money laundering and financing of terrorism.
Analysts have already hinted that the development has the potential to discourage or slow inflows of foreign direct investment into Botswana.
