Financial Crime World

Financial Crimes in Banking: New Zealand’s Battle Against Money Laundering and Asset Recovery

Introduction

The Financial Crime Group, comprising the Financial Intelligence Unit, Money Laundering Team, and Asset Recovery Units, is working tirelessly to combat financial crimes in New Zealand. This article highlights the efforts of the group and its partners in detecting and preventing money laundering, terrorism financing, and other serious offences.

Core Functions of the Financial Crime Group

  • Financial Intelligence: Receiving and analysing financial intelligence to detect and investigate money laundering, terrorism financing, and other serious offences.
  • Investigation: Investigating money laundering syndicates and recovering assets for law enforcement agencies.
  • Policy and Legal Advice: Providing policy and legal advice on financial crime matters.

The Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU)

The FIU plays a crucial role in the fight against financial crime, generating proactive and targeted financial offender profiles, providing policy and legal advice, and producing the National Risk Assessment. The FIU collects and disseminates financial information to detect and investigate money laundering, terrorism financing, and other serious offences.

Asset Recovery Units (ARUs)

Established in 2009, ARUs focus on disrupting, deterring, and derailing crime, particularly in areas of organised crime and methamphetamine offending. ARUs investigate cases using complex forensic accountancy and financial analysis processes.

The Money Laundering Team (MLT)

The MLT investigates criminal offenders moving the proceeds of predicate offending, with a focus on disrupting and dismantling facilitators assisting organised criminal groups to hide illicit funds.

Financial Crime Prevention Network (FCPN)

New Zealand’s Public Private Partnership, chaired by the Financial Crime Group, aims to prevent financial crimes through joint strategic typology products. Key partners include NZ Customs, ANZ, ASB, BNZ, Kiwibank, and Westpac.

Types of Financial Crimes

The Financial Crime Group is targeting various types of financial crimes, including:

  • Money Laundering: Transferring proceeds of crime into legitimate businesses.
  • Terrorism Financing: Providing funds to support terrorist activities.
  • Trade-based Money Laundering: Disguising illicit transactions through trade.
  • Virtual Asset Service Providers: Facilitating illicit transactions using cryptocurrencies.
  • Trust and Company Service Providers: Enabling money laundering through shell companies.

Prevention of Financial Crimes

The Financial Crime Group relies on a network of reporting entities, including banks, financial institutions, and other businesses, to report suspicious transactions. The public-private partnership approach of the FCPN aims to prevent financial crimes by sharing knowledge and expertise among key stakeholders.

International Compliance

New Zealand has been identified as being compliant with international anti-money laundering standards by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). However, ongoing efforts are required to strengthen New Zealand’s regime against money laundering and asset recovery.