AML/CFT Act – Phase 2

The Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) Amendment Bill will put in place ‘Phase 2’ of New Zealand’s AML/CFT laws. Under Phase 2, the bill will extend the current Act to cover lawyers and accountants, real estate agents and conveyancers, some businesses that deal in high value goods, and betting on sports and racing.

Phase 2 Stages

The Amendment bill received Royal Assent in August 2017, with a phased roll-out of reforms coming into effect following the stages below:

Lawyers and Conveyancers by no later than 1 July 2018
Accountants by no later than 1 October 2018
Real estate agents by no later than 1 January 2019
High value dealers and the NZ Racing Board by no later than 1 August 2019

Preparing for Phase 2

As the first sector to be phased in, lawyers will be subject to the same obligations as existing reporting entities.

These include:

Appointment of an AML/CFT Compliance Officer.
Preparation and maintenance (including regular review) of an AML/CFT written risk assessment and compliance programme.
Conducting customer due diligence (CDD) (including ongoing CDD).
Monitoring transactions for unusual behaviour and reporting any suspicious activity to the Police Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU).
Filing prescribed transaction reports (in relation to domestic cash transactions over $10,000 and international wire transfers over $1,000) to the FIU.
Filing an annual report with their AML/CFT supervisor.
Arranging an independent audit of AML/CFT documents and procedures every two years.

Queries about how Phase 2 will affect you? We can help you get ahead.