Latest news with #Anti-MoneyLaunderingandCounteringFinancingofTerrorism
Scoop
4 days ago
- Business
- Scoop
Red Tape Relief Making A Difference For Businesses
Associate Minister of Justice Associate Justice Minister Nicole McKee says that small businesses will benefit from upcoming reforms to New Zealand's Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) laws, as the Government moves to make compliance more proportionate and practical for low-risk operators. Associate Justice Minister Nicole McKee has announced Cabinet's approval to draft a new Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism (Omnibus) Amendment Bill to overhaul the existing system. Under current rules, even small businesses and professionals, such as real estate agents, face complex and time-consuming checks, often regardless of how much risk they face,' Mrs McKee says. 'This level of scrutiny is overkill for a small business dealing with law abiding New Zealanders and it's an example of why our AML laws need to be smarter and more risk-based,' Mrs McKee says. 'These reforms will enable simplified customer due diligence (CDD) where businesses have assessed the risk of money laundering or terrorist financing to be low and have appropriate controls in place to manage risk. This will support a wide range of small businesses to reduce costs for their customers. 'For example, currently, families selling their home must undergo enhanced customer due diligence if the home is held within a family trust. 'Even when there are clear low risk indicators, such as a property being owned for over a decade and held in a non-trading trust, real estate agents are still required to collect extensive personal and legal information. 'For real estate agents, this would mean taking a common-sense approach to low-risk customers, for example only needing to verify the homeowners' identity documents and their role as trustees, and retaining a copy of the trust deed. 'Similarly, share brokers and bookkeepers may be able to reduce the level of CDD required for low-risk customers and businesses where there are appropriate restrictions and conditions put in place, such as transaction limits.' The Government has also directed the future AML/CFT supervisor to issue clear guidance so that businesses like bookkeepers, real estate agents, lawyers, and banks know exactly how to apply these simplified checks without fear of penalty. 'This Government is serious about targeting criminals, not clogging up legitimate businesses and everyday people with red tape. 'We've heard from parents who've been unable to set up bank accounts for their kids because they can't prove where their child lives. We've heard from elderly Kiwis who, after the death of a spouse, find they can't open an account in their own name due to a lack of documentation. That's not a system based on risk, that's bureaucracy getting in the way of people's lives.' As well as making things easier for small business, the bill will enable: Simplified CDD for low-risk individuals and activities such as opening children's bank accounts and using digital wallets. Simplify compliance for small businesses in rural areas. Grant new powers to combat criminal activity, such as a $5,000 cap on payments of cash for international transfers and banning crypto ATMs. 'Since 2019, the global financial landscape has shifted dramatically, and New Zealand is overdue for a clear and modern national strategy, one that protects against organised crime, while also making compliance easier for those doing the right thing,' Mrs McKee says. 'We want New Zealand to be the safest place in the world to do business legitimately, and the hardest place for criminals to operate. 'By the time we're finished, New Zealand will have a world-class AML/CFT regime – one that hits criminals hard, not ordinary New Zealanders.'
Scoop
6 days ago
- Business
- Scoop
Simplifying Requirements Around Family Trusts
Associate Minister of Justice Associate Justice Minister Nicole McKee says the Government is continuing to cut through unnecessary bureaucracy with reforms to the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) Act, which will make life easier for hard-working Kiwi families managing property through family trusts. 'For thousands of New Zealanders, setting up a family trust is part of securing their financial future, especially when it comes to their home. But under the current AML regime, selling a house held in a trust triggers a burdensome level of document verification and compliance checks that has little to do with actual risk,' Mrs McKee says. 'Families who've worked hard, paid off their mortgage, and saved for the future shouldn't be treated like potential criminals just because they want to move house. Take, for example, a couple who've spent 15 years in the same home, raising their children and gradually paying off their mortgage. Like many Kiwi families, they've placed their home in a Family Trust to help manage and protect their most valuable asset. 'If they decide to sell, real estate agents are currently required to collect an overwhelming amount of personal and legal information — including the names and addresses of all beneficiaries, even their children, trustees, and lawyers, along with a detailed explanation and documents to prove how the home was paid for. 'Under the new reforms, a real estate agent can apply simplified customer due diligence if the sale is clearly low risk. That could mean only: Confirming the property's ownership and trustee details match what's on the certificate of title Verifying the couple's identity documents and their role as trustees Retaining a copy of the trust deed. 'When there's clearly nothing untoward going on, there's no need for invasive investigations or repetitive paperwork.' The Government has also directed the future AML/CFT supervisor to issue clear guidance so that real estate agents, lawyers, and accountants know exactly how to apply these simplified checks without fear of penalty. 'These changes are about recognising that not all customers carry the same risk and it's time our laws reflected that,' Ms McKee says. 'New Zealanders who play by the rules, work hard, and save for their future should be supported by the system, not tied up in red tape.' This is part of a wider programme of reform to make New Zealand's AML/CFT regime smarter, more proportionate, and focused on genuine risks.
Scoop
7 days ago
- Business
- Scoop
Cutting Red Tape So Young Kiwis Can Start Saving
Associate Minister of Justice Associate Justice Minister Nicole McKee is making changes to the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) Act that will make it easier for parents to open bank accounts for their children. 'Opening a bank account for children should be a simple and positive step toward teaching them the value of saving. Unfortunately, regulations designed to prevent serious crimes can make the process unnecessarily difficult,' says Mrs McKee. 'The Government is cutting red tape that can make it harder for parents to do the easy thing and open a bank account for their children. 'According to the Act, a parent who wants to open an account for their eight-year-old child needs to gather and verify a long list of information, including their child's address, date of birth, name, and their own authority to act on their child's behalf. The Act also requires banks to obtain the nature and purpose of the business relationship, evaluate whether further due diligence is required, and monitoring the child's transactions on an ongoing basis. 'Under the Government's new reforms, banks will be allowed to apply a simplified processes when risk is low. This means that if a bank puts measures in place to make a child's bank account low-risk (e.g. by setting appropriate transaction limits) all that could be required is a birth certificate to confirm the child's name and date of birth, and prove the relationship to the parent. 'They could also skip the intrusive and unnecessary questions about the 'nature and purpose' of the account, and reduce or forego ongoing monitoring of a child's banking activity, until the account's settings are changed (e.g., removal of transaction limits when a child turns 18). The Government has also directed the future AML/CFT supervisor to issue clear guidance so that businesses like banks know exactly how to apply these simplified checks without fear of penalty. 'This is a common-sense reform. Parents shouldn't be asked to jump through bureaucratic hoops just to open a bank account for their kids. We're streamlining the system so that New Zealanders can spend less time on paperwork and more time teaching their children the value of money. 'These changes reflect the Government's wider commitment to smarter regulation, focusing on outcomes rather than ticking boxes, and trusting New Zealanders to make responsible decisions without being buried under red tape.'
Otago Daily Times
7 days ago
- Business
- Otago Daily Times
Changes to anti-money laundering act
David Seymour and Nicole McKee. Image: RNZ Parents should find it easier to open a bank account for their child under changes to the government's anti-money laundering policy. Associate Justice Minister Nicole McKee made the announcement this afternoon with Acting Prime Minister David Seymour. Mckee said the changes to the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) Act - designed to prevent serious crimes - would make opening an account for children easier, as regulations designed to prevent serious crimes "can make the process unnecessarily difficult". "A parent who wants to open an account for their eight-year-old child needs to gather and verify a long list of information including their child's address, date of birth, name, and their own authority to act on their child's behalf. "The Act also requires banks to obtain the nature and purpose of the business relationship, evaluate whether further due diligence is required, and monitoring the child's transactions on an ongoing basis." She said changes to the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism Act amendment would mean banks could use a simpler process when the risk was low - for example, when a child's bank account had appropriate transaction limits. "All that could be required is a birth certificate to confirm the child's name and date of birth, and prove the relationship to the parent. They could also skip the intrusive and unnecessary questions about the 'nature and purpose' of the account, and reduce or forego ongoing monitoring of a child's banking activity, until the account's settings are changed (eg removal of transaction limits when a child turns 18)." The government had also directed the future supervisor of the Act to release clear guidance on how to apply these simple checks, she said.
