Welcome to Compliance News
November 2021

In this issue:

• DIA welcomes improved compliance from Property Brokers Ltd
• FIU/ACAMS Conference
• AML/CFT Legal Sector Education Webinars
• AML/CFT Statutory Review Consultation

DIA welcomes improved compliance from Property Brokers Ltd

The hard work of Property Brokers Limited to meet its anti-money laundering obligations has been recognised by Te Tari Taiwhenua Department of Internal Affairs.

This follows a formal warning in March 2021 under the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism Act 2009. No actual money laundering was alleged. The formal warning was for failing to establish, implement and maintain adequate policies, procedures and controls to detect money laundering.

You can read more about the work Property Brokers undertook to improve in an article we’ve published on our website.

FIU/ACAMS Conference

The annual FIU/ACAMS conference was held recently on the 26th – 27th of October. Due to challenges around COVID-19, the conference was fully virtual, a first for this event.

Over two days, the conference gave attendees plenty to consider about the ways the public and private sectors can work together to fight financial crime.

Presentations included:

• NZ Police presented on the impact of the 501 deportees on the NZ gang scene, and how this is changing the ways NZ gangs are operating.

•  ANZ and NZ Police FIU spoke of the importance of Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) to the AML/CFT system. High-quality SARs from reporting entities provide valuable leads to assist the Police and other law enforcement agencies in financial investigations.  The NZ FIU processes approximately 24,000 SARs per annum..

• David Lewis, Executive Secretary of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), reiterated the critical need for technology in helping reporting entities cope with the increasing volume of transactions and customers.

AML/CFT Legal Sector Education Webinars

Our Engagement and Innovation team recently presented two educational webinars that were attended by compliance officers from law firms across the country. One of the webinars was intended to be an in-person educational session, but due to recent COVID lockdowns and restrictions, it was moved to a fully virtual session.

The webinars covered a range of topics including an insight into our recent regulatory findings for the legal sector, an overview of the Mutual Evaluation process and its impact, and an update on the AML/CFT Legislative Review.

Both webinars also had Q&A sessions which provided an interactive environment to address issues, concerns and topics that are top of mind for compliance officers in the legal sector.

Thank you to all those who attended the sessions. We have plans to host more educational workshops and webinars in future that target different sectors, so please keep an eye out for communications from our Engagement team in the new year.”

AML/CFT Statutory Review Consultation

AML Statutory Review - are our anti-money laundering laws the best they can be?

Public submissions on the review opened on 6 October 2021 and will close on 3 December 2021. If you would like to have your say, you can complete an online survey on the Ministry of Justice’s AML/CFT Act review webpage.

If you prefer, you are also welcome to contact the Ministry of Justice via email on aml@justice.govt.nz.

For more information on AML/CFT Act Law Reform and a frequently asked questions section, please visit the Ministry of Justice’s website here: More Information and  Frequently Asked Questions

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