Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism
What’s new:
- The Financial Action Task Force is consulting the public on revisions to the 40+9 Recommendations on Money Laundering and Terrorism Financing. The consultation document is available here.
The Ministry of Justice is responsible for leading the development of New Zealand's anti-money laundering and countering financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) policy.
In 2009 the Government passed the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism Act 2009 (AML/CFT Act). The Act seeks to deter money laundering and the financing of terrorism, contribute to public confidence in the financial system and improve New Zealand’s compliance with the recommendations of the Financial Action Task Force.
Are you a reporting entity under the AML/CFT Act?
The Act applies to reporting entities. Reporting entities are financial institutions, casinos, certain trust and company service providers and certain financial advisers.
Find out if you or your business is a reporting entity and read more about the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism Act 2009 here.
Find out more about:
Commencement of the AML/CFT Act
The publication of the commencement order for the remaining provisions of the AML/CFT Act was notified in the New Zealand Gazette on 30 June 2011.
The commencement order establishes that the Act will come fully into force on 30 June 2013. This means reporting entities will have two full years to plan for compliance. The commencement order is available on the New Zealand Legislation website.
The commencement order also brings into force provisions that enable Ministers and AML/CFT supervisors to make codes of practice. The first code of practice relates to identity verification and is in final stages of development. The Department of Internal Affairs is the AML/CFT supervisor managing this process. All queries about the code of practice should be directed to: amlcft@dia.govt.nz.
Publication of regulations
Four sets of regulations have been notified in the New Zealand Gazette and are now available on the New Zealand Legislation website.
- Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism (Definitions) Regulations 2011 commence on 28 July 2011 and will:
- Include certain financial advisers and trust and company service providers
- Exclude certain entities from the Act
- Establish thresholds for occasional transactions and beneficial ownership
- Extend eligibility for designated business groups and establish the procedure for electing to be a member.
- Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism (Exemptions) Regulations 2011 commence on 30 June 2013 and exempt some transactions and services from the Act or parts of the Act (more about this here).
- Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism (Requirements and Compliance) Regulations 2011 come into force on 30 June 2013 and:
- Require customer due diligence to be carried out on anonymous accounts
- Require information to be collected about beneficiaries of trusts that are customers of reporting entities
- Expand the scope of entities to which simplified due diligence can be applied
- Prescribe annual reporting requirements.
- Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism (Ministerial Exemption Form) Regulations 2011 prescribe the form in which the Minister must make Ministerial exemptions. This regulation comes into force on 28 July 2011.
The submission to Cabinet Legislation Committee has also been published on this website. Read all AML/CFT Cabinet papers provided to Ministers here.
We are here to assist
If reporting entities have concerns about how this law is going to affect them there are mechanisms in place to assist. In addition to regulated exemptions, the Minister of Justice is able to grant Ministerial exemptions to reporting entities, or for transactions, on a case by case basis. Read more about exemptions here.
Further information about obligations of reporting entities and how the regime will be supervised is also available on AML/CFT supervisor’s websites:
- For life insurers, banks and non-bank deposit takers, the Reserve Bank of New Zealand is your supervisor.
- For issuers of securities, trustee companies, futures dealers, collective investment schemes, brokers and financial advisers, the Financial Markets Authority is your supervisor. Note that the Finacial Markets Authority took over the AML/CFT functions of its predecessor the Securities Commission of New Zealand on 1 May 2011.
- For casinos, non-deposit taking lenders, money changers and anyone else who is not supervised by either the Reserve Bank or the Financial Markets Authority, the Department of Internal Affairs is your supervisor.
If you can’t find the answer to your question on this website please contact the International Criminal Law Team: International.Crime@justice.govt.nz
Important!
The information on this page does not constitute legal advice. Readers are advised to consult the statute and regulations, and seek independent legal advice before undertaking any action in reliance on the contents of this webpage.
