The Department of Internal Affairs

Te Tari Taiwhenua | Department of Internal Affairs

Building a safe, prosperous and respected nation



 

Information for the public

What is money laundering and financing of terrorism?

Money laundering is how criminals disguise the illegal origins of their money. Financers of terrorism use similar techniques to money launderers to avoid detection by authorities and to protect the identity of those providing and receiving the funds.

Who does what?

The Department of Internal Affairs supervises casinos, non-deposit taking lenders, money changers, money remitters, payroll remitters, debt collectors, factors, financial leasors, safe deposit box vaults, non-bank credit card providers, stored value card providers and cash transporters, virtual asset service providers, accountants, lawyers, conveyancers, real estate agents, high value dealers, and any other reporting entities not supervised by the Reserve Bank or the Financial Markets Authority.

How does it affect consumers?

If you are a customer of financial institutions, casinos, virtual assets service providers, accountants, lawyers, conveyancers or high value dealers you may experience more stringent identity checks than you did prior to the AML/CFT Act coming into effect. However, by verifying your identity you will be helping protect New Zealand businesses from being misused for the purposes of criminal activity.

Providing Proof of Identification

As a customer of a business that has to comply with the AML/CFT Act you may be asked to provide proof of identification.

To find out why you are being asked to provide proof of identification, see the below fact sheet.

Customer Due Diligence information sheet: proof of identification

This information sheet is available in three languages - English, Chinese and Samoan:

Warning - Beware of Scam impersonating AML/CFT Group

Please beware of an overseas phishing scam that is impersonating Department of Internal Affair’s Anti Money Laundering/Countering Financing of Terrorism Group (AML/CFT). Scammers are impersonating officials, via email and phone calls, asking for personal financial information, the payment of fees and money transfers into cryptocurrency or different bank accounts.

Please note, the AML/CFT Group does not send requests for payments, or for individuals to transfer funds.

The Department of Internal Affairs only regulates businesses captured by the Anti Money Laundering & Countering Financing of Terrorism Act in New Zealand and would never request funds from a business or a customer.

If you receive any suspicious requests from anyone stating they are the AML/CFT Group, please stop communication immediately and contact us as at amlcft@dia.govt.nz to confirm if it’s legitimate or a scam.

What to do if you may have been scammed

Scammers may use a variety of tactics to gain the trust of their victims, such as posing as legitimate companies or organisations, offering fake investment opportunities, or using emotional appeals to exploit someone’s vulnerabilities. If you think you have been scammed:

  1. Stop all contact with the scammer
  2. Do not make any more payments
  3. Contact the bank or service you sent money through

For more info visit the DIA Website - How to Report Scams

If you have been targeted by a phishing scam in New Zealand that attempts to get your personal information:

If you are overseas, please report the scam to your local police or look up your countries responsible scam agency.

If you suspect you have been targeted by an investment or financial scam, report the scam to the FMA.

For more information visit the FMA Website - Report a Scam