Local police have asked mining company owner Bridgette Motsepe to respond to allegations in Botswana that she was involved in financial crimes connected with that country's political ructions.
Documents seen by the Sunday Times reveal that the Commercial Crimes Unit in Pretoria wrote to Motsepe on January 29 asking her to furnish them with details of relations between her company, Mmakau Mining, and Botswana-based Avante Security Services.
The authorities in Gaborone have alleged that Motsepe and former Botswana president Ian Khama funded or attempted to fund political opponents of incumbent President Mokgweetsi Masisi.
"The Botswana government has requested a mutual legal assistance from SA," the letter to Motsepe says.
"The Botswana government is investigating a case of fraud and money-laundering . The Financial Intelligence Agency received a suspicious transaction report involving Mr Olebeng Adam Ngwakwena and his company Avante Security Services."
According to the letter, police in Botswana believe Mmakau Mining gave Avante 2-million pula (about R2.7m) in a supposed loan agreement. Avante's bank records indicated a "suspicious" flow of money from Mmakau to Avante between December 2018 and March 2019.
Motsepe's attorney, Dario Milo of Webber Wentzel, told the Sunday Times that his client had been in touch with the local police and was responding to the letter from the Commercial Crimes Unit.
"Ambassador Motsepe has received a letter from the SAPS requesting a response to certain queries from the Republic of Botswana," he said. "Ambassador Motsepe has not been involved in fraud or money-laundering."
The letter lists at least six such transactions involving amounts ranging from 136,000 to 800,000 pula.
However, according to sources, Botswana law enforcement agencies believe the loan agreement is a fiction and the money was intended to fund the political campaign of Pelenomi Venson-Moitoi, an ally of Khama, who was Masisi's rival for leadership of the ruling Botswana Democratic Party in 2019.
Venson-Moitoi first went to the high court to try to have the elective congress postponed but later withdrew from the race, alleging the election would be rigged.
In September 2019 the Botswana authorities requested legal assistance from SA through diplomatic channels to help them to investigate what they believed was money-laundering in which Motsepe and Khama were implicated.
In August last year it was reported that Botswana's director of public prosecutions, Stephen Tiroyakgosi, had asked Afrikaner rights group AfriForum to intervene because SA had not responded to the request.
Tiroyakgosi wanted AfriForum to sue justice minister Ronald Lamola, international relations minister Naledi Pandor and the National Prosecuting Authority.
The accusations against Khama and Motsepe were contained in an affidavit by Jako Hubona, an investigator with Botswana's Directorate on Corruption and Economic Crime, which he filed last year in opposition to a bail application by Welheminah Maswabi, a former Botswana intelligence officer who was charged with possession of unexplained property and financing terrorism.
The state alleged that Khama and Motsepe were trying to orchestrate political unrest and were funding opposition to Masisi.
Motsepe commissioned a forensic report by UK-based Omnia Strategy, a dispute resolution law firm, and Alaco, a business intelligence consultancy, which, in August last year, rejected the allegations in the affidavit as a "fabrication". Motsepe then initiated legal action against the Botswana authorities for tarnishing her name.
In its letter to Motsepe, the Commercial Crimes Unit asks her to disclose details of Mmakau's business dealings with Avante.
"What is the relationship between Mmakau Mining Pty Ltd and Eastgate International Bank? [used to transfer money to Avante Security Services]," the letter asks.
"Please provide copy of the loan agreement from your records between Mmakau Mining and Avante Security Services .
"Where did the company Mmakau Mining get the money to offer Avante Security Services a loan? Where did the loan money come from?"
The letter asks who in Mmakau had facilitated and processed the loan agreement and made payments to Avante.
"Each official needs to prove [sic] an affidavit as to their roles in the transaction(s)," the letter says.
Referring to the Hubona affidavit, Milo said: "Our client instituted a defamation case against the government of Botswana in October last year."
Motsepe, sister-in-law of President Cyril Ramaphosa, is a goodwill ambassador for the Pan-African Parliament.
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