In the murky and high-stakes world of Botswana’s mining sector, the difference between a rejected application and a multi-billion Pula mineral jackpot appears to be little more than a herd of cattle and a ghost bank card. Former Minister of Minerals and Energy, Lefoko Maxwell Moagi, has been arraigned on corruption and money laundering charges that expose a brazen “pay-to-play” scheme at the very heart of the Ministry. An investigation by this publication, based on court filings and corporate registry documents, suggests that Moagi allegedly handed over nearly 4,700 square kilometres of prime copper territory to a Chinese syndicate in exchange for a P4.7 million slush fund and a massive herd of livestock.
The most damning evidence of this alleged state capture sits in a charge sheet dated December 24, 2025. Prosecutors allege that on April 17, 2024, Moagi accepted a bank card linked to an account at Bank Gaborone belonging to Wisecreatives Investments (Pty) Ltd, a shell company incorporated just weeks earlier. This was no ordinary corporate expense account; investigators found it loaded with P4,706,000.00—cash allegedly funnelled from two associated entities, New Energy Company (Pty) Ltd and Riders (Pty) Ltd. The State’s case is blunt and unequivocal: Moagi was given the card to access these funds for his personal use, effectively turning a corporate bank account into a private wallet for a sitting minister.
While the charge sheet names a “Mr. Han” of Sieyuan Electric as a handler, the true architects of the deal appear to be a tight-knit network of directors we have identified as the “Li Nexus.” Corporate registry documents reveal a circular flow of influence involving three companies that all share a single postal address at PO Box 403910, Gaborone. The funding vehicle, New Energy Company (Pty) Ltd, is directed by Gang Li, Zheng Li, and Xu Li. The bagman in the operation appears to be Wisecreatives Investments, the company that held the Minister’s bank card, which is directed solely by Zheng Li, the same man sitting on the board of the funding company. The structure bears all the hallmarks of classic money laundering, where established firms move cash into a “clean” shell company, which then hands the debit card to the politician, distancing the bribe from the original source.
The return on investment for the Li family was astronomical. Between July 5 and July 15, 2024—just three months after Moagi allegedly received the bank card—New Energy Company submitted applications for seven copper prospecting licenses. By October 1, 2024, Minister Moagi’s ministry had approved every single one of them. The licenses grant New Energy exclusive rights to a staggering 4,663 square kilometres of land in the copper-rich Ghanzi and Kgalagadi districts. The portfolio handed to New Energy Company is immense, including massive tracts such as PL0393 and PL0390, which alone cover over 1,700 square kilometres, alongside five other licenses that collectively carpet the region. While the State alleges the Minister was bought for P5 million, the value of these copper assets could undeniably run into the billions, effectively transferring sovereign mineral wealth to a private foreign syndicate for pennies on the dollar.
As if the cash card wasn’t enough, the syndicate allegedly sweetened the pot in August 2024 with a “gift” of livestock. Moagi received 100 heifers and a bull valued at P417,500 from Sieyuan Electric. When scrutiny mounted, the players allegedly panicked. Prosecutors claim Moagi and the syndicate hastily drafted a “false loan contract” between November 2024 and April 2025 to disguise the cattle as a loan—a clumsy cover-up that has now triggered additional money laundering charges. Former Minister Moagi has not yet entered a plea, but with a paper trail linking bank cards, cattle, and copper licenses directly to his desk, the “Li Nexus” scandal is poised to become the most expensive case of state capture in Botswana’s recent history.
