Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism Act 2009 (“AML/CFT”)
New Zealand passed a law called the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism Act 2009 (“AML/CFT Act”). The law came into place as a means of showing New Zealand’s commitment to the international initiative to counter the impact that criminal activity has on people and economies within the global community.
Recent changes to the AML/CFT Act mean that from 1 July 2018 lawyers must take numerous steps to combat money laundering and terrorist financing because some of the services law firms and other professionals offer, could be utilised by those involved in criminal activity.
Therefore, under this legislation, law firms are required to assess the risk they may face from transactions they carry out for clients. In order to complete such an assessment, lawyers must obtain and verify information from all clients (both new and existing) such as proof of identification and address. This is known as “customer due diligence” and is a similar obligation that the banks have in relation to their customers.
Customer Due Diligence:
Customer due diligence requires a law firm to undertake certain background checks before providing services to clients. Lawyers must take reasonable steps to make sure the information they receive from clients is correct, and so they need to ask for documents that verify this information.
Conway Lane Law needs to obtain and verify certain information from you to meet these legal requirements. This information includes:
- your full name;
- your date of birth; and
- your address.
Click here to see further details on proof of identification and address.
Individuals:
To confirm these details, we will require documents such as your passport or driver’s licence, and documents that show your address such as a current bank statement or utility bill.
Trusts, Companies & Estates:
We will need information about the company or trust including any controlling persons as well as people associated with it (such as directors and shareholders, trustees and beneficiaries).
We may also need to ask you for further information about the nature and purpose of the proposed work you are instructing us on. Information confirming the source of funds for a transaction may also benecessary to meet the legal requirements.
If you cannot provide the required information:
If we are not able to obtain the required information from you, it is likely we will not be able to act for you. Please note, the law applies to all clients. Therefore, we are required to obtain this information from you, even if we have acted for you before.
Before we undertake work for you, we will let you know what information we need, and what documents you need to provide us with.
