Anti-money laundering services

The Ministry of Justice is currently reviewing and updating New Zealand’s anti-money laundering (AML) regime, aimed at countering the financing of terrorism and bringing New Zealand into line with international standards established by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), the global AML standard setter. New or amended legislation is expected to be enacted by the end of 2008.

The FATF standards comprise 40 recommendations on money laundering and nine on countering terrorist financing. New Zealand has been a member of the FATF since its creation and also The Asia Pacific Group on Money Laundering.

At a domestic level, an anti-money laundering regulatory framework that is weak, or is perceived to being weak, might foster the criminal element in our society and appeal to international criminals too. Internationally, non compliance with FATF standards might adversely affect New Zealand’s international reputation, both socially and financially, particularly in the light of an increased international emphasis on preventing money laundering and particularly the financing of terrorism.

At PwC, our AML experience is drawn from more than a decade of providing risk-assessment, compliance program design, development, training, implementation, monitoring and independent testing for AML programs within financial services organisations worldwide.

In our opinion, the changes in the New Zealand AML regime is likely to be a major and costly commercial issue in the next few years. Companies that adopt the required changes in internal systems and controls early will benefit from better information about their clients and will avoid the potentially high penalties from failure to comply with regulatory requirements when they come in. A strategic approach to AML can be a powerful force that drives out organisational obstacles created by information that was previously not being shared.