About the legislation
The Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism Act 2009 (AML/CFT Act) came into force on 30 June 2013. It provides:
- a regime for supervising, monitoring and enforcing the Act by three supervisors – the Reserve Bank of New Zealand, the Financial Markets Authority and the Department of Internal Affairs
- requirements for businesses and organisations that have to comply with the AML/CFT Act (such as customer due diligence, account monitoring and reporting suspicious activities and transactions)
- civil and criminal offences and a framework to detect and deter money laundering and terrorism financing.
Read the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism Act 2009
New regulations
On 9 July 2021, a new set of regulations came into force. They are publicly available from Legislation.govt.nz.
AML/CFT (Cross-border Transportation of Cash) Amendment Regulations 2021
AML/CFT (Definitions) Amendment Regulations 2021
AML/CFT (Exemptions) Amendment Regulations 2021
AML/CFT (Requirements and Compliance) Amendment Regulations 2021
Compliance date for nominee directors and general partners regulation
The AML/CFT supervisors have agreed a transitional compliance period until 29 April 2022 for the new regulations relating to nominee directors and nominee general partners.
The supervisors issued a communication on 9 July 2021: