Consultation launched to inform new anti-money laundering laws.
Thursday, 18 August, 2016 - 14:51
The Ministry of Justice is encouraging businesses affected by upcoming changes to anti-money laundering law to have their say on the proposed reforms.
The Ministry has issued a consultation document as part of the Government’s move to extend the Anti-
Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism Act 2009 (AML/CFT Act) to more businesses and professions.
"We want to make sure our anti-money laundering laws are effective, while minimising the impact on businesses," says Rajesh Chhana, Deputy Secretary Policy.
"Money laundering and terrorist financing are significant problems both here and worldwide. They allow criminals to hide the proceeds of their illegal activities and to fund serious crimes such as drug offending, organised crime, terrorism and tax evasion."
It is hard to quantify how much ‘dirty’ money is channelled through New Zealand businesses, but it has been estimated at about $1.5 billion each year.
In 2013, Phase One of the AML/CFT Act came into effect. This placed obligations on financial institutions and casinos, and appointed government agencies to oversee and enforce the law and help businesses to comply with it. It also bolstered authorities’ ability to detect and investigate serious crimes by following the money trail that such offences generate.
In June this year, the Prime Minister announced the Government will accelerate Phase Two of the AML/CFT regime. This will extend it to many lawyers, accountants, real estate a
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