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Welcome to the July issue of Compliance News
Kia ora koutou,
In this newsletter, there’s a range of articles that we hope you find valuable.
For all reporting entities now is the time to submit your annual report. We have already received an encouraging number of submissions through our AML Online portal so thank you. We encourage all compliance officers to complete this report as soon as possible.
You may have seen in the news that the Auckland High Court issued a penalty of $7.585m against two money remitters following civil proceedings by the Department last year. Our focus remains on supporting businesses to comply with their legal obligations through education but when a business repeatedly fails to comply, we will take decisive action.
In June we held a group meeting with peak bodies and leaders of the sectors we supervise on the impact of COVID-19. One common theme was the financial impact is yet to be fully understood. To help businesses we have published some guidance on the AML/CFT risks arising from COVID-19.
FATF has also published the revised list of jurisdictions that have AML/CFT deficiencies. If you undertake activities or transactions with a country on this list, you must ensure your AML/CFT programme includes appropriate measures to manage and mitigate money laundering and terrorism financing risks.
We hope you find these articles useful and helpful. Together we can strengthen the AML/CFT system and prevent harm to your business reputation and New Zealand communities.
As a quick reminder, if you are no longer providing captured activities, please let us know by email at amlcft@dia.govt.nz.
Ngā mihi,
Mike Stone
Director AML Group, Regulatory Services
Reporting entities must submit to their supervisor an annual report of their risk assessment and AML/CFT programme by 31 August. Thank you to those who have already submitted their annual report on AML Online. We recommend all reporting entities commence and submit their annual report in advance of the closing date. For any annual reporting questions, please visit our Annual Report page here and our annual report webinar here.
Civil proceedings result in a penalty of $7.585m against two money remitters
The Auckland High Court has issued a penalty of over $7 million in a recent anti-money laundering judgment. Some key learning points for reporting entities is that these penalties relate to significant and ongoing breaches of the AML/CFT Act, including failing to cooperate with the Department and attempts to mislead the Department. Our focus continues to be lifting compliance through education.
Risks arising from COVID-19
We have published an article that outlines some indicators of risk and recommended actions for reporting entities due to COVID-19. The findings in the article align with international trends reported by the Financial Action Task Force.
Legal sector regulatory findings
After publishing our regulatory findings report for compliance assessments completed over the 12 months ending 30 June 2019, and in response to requests, we have recently published this article for the legal sector regulatory findings for assessments completed over the 12 months ending 30 January.
FATF high-risk jurisdictions
The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has updated the list of monitored jurisdictions. If you are a business who undertakes activities or transactions involving a country with insufficient AML/CFT systems in place, your AML/CFT programme must adopt measures to manage and mitigate the associated money laundering and terrorism financing risks.
You may have missed
We work to regularly update our website newsfeed and encourage reporting entities to visit our website regularly to check for recent publications. Here are some articles you may have missed:
We encourage everyone to refer to our website dia.govt.nz/amlcft regularly for updates on our guidance, information and advice.
The team are ready to assist either by phone - 0800 25 78 87 - or email the team on amlcft@dia.govt.nz
