27.     Obligations of supervisory authorities

          (1) Notwithstanding the provisions of section 4 (2)(d), a supervisory authority shall-

    (a)     regulate and supervise a specified party for compliance with this Act including through on-site examinations;

    (b)     in consultation with the Agency, issue instructions, guidelines or recommendations to help a specified party comply with this Act;

    (c)     in cooperation with the Agency, develop standards or criteria applicable to the reporting of suspicious transactions that shall take into account other existing and future pertinent national and international standards; and

    (d)     maintain statistics concerning compliance measures adopted or implemented by the specified party and sanctions imposed on such specified party, under this Act.

          (2) A supervisory authority may-

    (a)     issue a directive, penalising a specified party by imposing an appropriate, prescribed fine where the specified party has without reasonable excuse, failed to comply in whole or in part with any obligations under this Part; or

    (b)     enter into an agreement with a specified party to implement an action plan to ensure compliance of the specified party's obligations under this Act.

28.     Receipt of information by Agency

          (1) Where a report of a suspicious transaction has been made to the Agency, the Director may, for the purposes of assessing whether any information should be disseminated to an investigatory or supervisory authority, request further information in relation to the suspicious transaction from-

    (a)     the specified party or person who made the report;

    (b)     any other specified party that is, or appears to be involved in the transaction;

    (c)     an investigatory authority;

    (d)     a supervisory authority;or

    (e)     other administrative agencies of the Government.

          (2) Information requested under subsection (1) shall be provided without a court order and within such time limits as may be prescribed.

          (3) A person who refuses to supply information requested under this section shall be guilty of an offence and liable to a fine not exceeding P100 000 or to imprisonment to a term not exceeding five years or to both.

29.     Referral of information by Agency

          (1) Where the Agency, on the basis of its analysis and assessment of information received by it, has reasonable grounds to suspect that the information would be relevant to the national security of Botswana, the Agency shall disclose the information to the Directorate.

          (2) The Agency shall record in writing, the reasons for its decision to disclose information in accordance with subsection (1).

          (3) Where the Agency becomes aware of information which may be relevant to-

    (a)     the functions of any supervisory authority;

    (b)     investigation or prosecution being conducted by an investigatory authority;or

    (c)     a possible corruption offence, as defined in the Corruption and Economic Crime Act,

the Agency shall disclose the information to the supervisory authority or investigatory authority concerned.

          (4) For the purposes of subsections (1)and (3), "information" in relation to a financial transaction or the import and export of currency or monetary instruments includes-

    (a)     the name of the person or the importer or exporter or any other person or entity acting on their behalf;

    (b)     the name and address of the place of business where the transaction occurred or the address of the port of entry into Botswana where the importation or exportation occurred;

    (c)     the date of the transaction, importation or exportation;

    (d)     the amount and type of currency or monetary instruments involved or in the case of a transaction, if no currency or monetary instruments are involved, the value of the transaction or the value of the funds that are the subject of the transaction;

    (e)     in the case of a transaction, the transaction number and the account number if any;and

    (f)      such other identification information as may be prescribed.

          (5) Where any information falling within subsections (1) and (4) was provided to the Agency by a body outside Botswana on terms of confidentiality, the Agency shall not disclose the information without the consent of the body that provided the information.

          (6) The Agency may request a supervisory authority to rebut information indicating that a specified party has as a result of a transaction concluded by or with the specified party, received or is about to receive the proceeds of a financial offence.

          (7) Information requested under subsection (6) shall be provided without a court order and within such time limits as may be prescribed.

30.     Referral of information by supervisory authority

          A supervisory authority shall where in the course of the exercise of its functions, it receives or otherwise becomes aware of any information suggesting the possibility of a commission of a financial offence, advise the Agency.

31.     Membership of international financial organisation

          (1) The Agency shall be the only body in Botswana which may seek recognition by the Egmont Group or comparable body to exchange financial intelligence information on the basis of reciprocity and mutual agreement.

          (2) Where the Agency is granted recognition in accordance with subsection (1), the Agency may exchange financial information with other members of the Egmont Group or comparable body in accordance with the conditions for such exchanges established by the Egmont Group.

          (3) Without prejudice to subsections (1) and (2), where theAgency becomes aware of any information which may be relevant to the functions of a comparable body, it may disclose the information to the comparable body under conditions of confidentiality.

          (4) Subject to subsection (5), where a request for information is received from a comparable body, the Agency shall disclose any relevant information in its possession to the comparable body, on such terms of confidentiality as may be agreed between the Agency and the comparable body.

          (5) Where a request referred to in subsection (4) concerns information which has been provided to the Agency by a supervisory authority, an investigatory authority, a statutory body or government agency, the information shall not be disclosed without the consent of the appropriate supervisory authority, investigatory authority, statutory body or government agency.

          (6) The Agency shall maintain a record in such form as may be prescribed, of statistics on the number of information disclosed to a comparable body and the number of requests of financial information from a comparable body.

32.     Certificate issued by Agency

          A certificate issued by the Agency that information specified in the certificate was reported to the Agency shall be admitted in evidence in court without proof or production of the original.

33.     Information held by Agency

          (1) No person shall be entitled to information held by the Agency except information disclosed in accordance with this Act.

          (2) A person shall not disclose confidential information held by or obtained by the Agency except-

    (a)     within the scope of that person's power and duties in terms of any legislation;

    (b)     for the purposes of carrying out the functions of this Act;or

    (c)     with the permission of the Agency.

          (3) A person who contravenes subsection (2) shall be guilty of an offence and liable to a fine not exceeding P50 000 or to imprisonment to a term not exceeding three years or to both.