SPCS

SOCIETY FOR PROMOTION OF COMMUNITY STANDARDS INC.

Anti-crime bill passes first reading and is sent on to select committee

by Leave a Comment

A NEW law to combat organised crime and corruption has passed its first hurdle in Parliament.

The Organised Crime and Anti-Corruption Legislation Bill passed its first reading yesterday with unanimous support.

Justice Minister Amy Adams, who introduced the bill, said it would respond to threats posed by money laundering, fraud and drug-related crime.

“Unfortunately, New Zealand is not immune to the threat posed by both international and domestic criminal networks, which operate on many fronts,” Adams said.

“Criminals use money laundering to disguise their criminal activities and to profit from crime.”

Other targeted criminal activities include identity theft, people trafficking and range of acts considered to be bribery and corruption.

The bill has been referred to the law and order select committee for consideration. [Read more…]

Money laundering probe into a wealthy businessman.

by Leave a Comment

An alleged money laundering probe into a wealthy businessman has been triggered …. following the collapse of companies connected to an Albany based project – the collapse involving $9 million in deposits owed to investors.

The money-laundering case against the businessman is linked to an alleged $129 million fraud. No criminal charges have been laid yet against the man, according to his lawyer, who said his client denies any wrongdoing.

Detectives raided the businessman’s luxury [Auckland Central] penthouse in August and seized at least $40 million of assets using the Criminal Proceeds Recovery law, which essentially forces someone to prove how an asset was paid for.

Full story: http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11341308

Big jump in money laundering reports

by Leave a Comment

MILLIONS of dollars in suspicious financial transactions, including some linked to child exploitation and drug dealing, have been reported under new anti-money laundering laws.

But police still cannot point to the number of arrests made or prosecutions launched as a result of the restrictive new regime installed in June 2013, or say how many of those reported as suspicious required more investigation.

In the first year of the Anti-Money-Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism Act being fully enacted, placing increased onus on banks and other financial institutions to detect suspicious transactions, almost 87,000 transactions worth $3.5 billion were reported to police.

In the previous year, before the law was passed, almost 12,000, worth $545 million, were reported.

Information released by police under the Official Information Act shows the suspicious transaction reports had “detected or contributed to [the] investigation of crimes including money laundering, drug dealing. large scale transnational fraud, abuse of trusts and companies and payments suspected to relate to child exploitation.

The size of the suspicious transactions reported in 2013-14 ranged from small sums to millions of dollars, averaging out at $40,400 a transaction. [Read more…]

Money laundering conviction for Natural Dairy duo involving HK$230m

by Leave a Comment

Two principals of a Hong Kong-based company that came close to buying New Zealand’s 22 Crafar farms have been convicted of laundering HK$230 million (NZ$36m).

The South China Morning Post said that a solicitor and the wife of a former director of listed company Natural Dairy (NZ) Holdings were convicted of the laundering.

Wu Wing-Kit, 57, was found guilty in the District Court of laundering HK$68.95m, while Ye Fang, 43, was convicted of dealing with the proceeds of indictable offences totalling HK$230m.

Natural Dairy (NZ) Holdings, known in New Zealand for its frontwoman, May Wang, had agreed to buy the Crafar family farms for NZ$375m.

Wu is Wang’s solicitor and Ye is the wife of Jack Chen, Wang’s business partner.

Prime Minister John Key at the time raised “concerns” about the sale of land to overseas interests.

In December 2010, acting on the recommendation of the Overseas Investment Office, the Government decided not to approve the application.

The rejection was based on the Government’s view that Natural Dairy were not fit persons.

The farms were later sold to another Chinese company, Shanghai Pengxin.

Full story: http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/10425426/Money-laundering-conviction-for-Natural-Dairy-duo

[Read more…]

Government unveils new anti-corruption law changes

by Leave a Comment

Justice Minister Judith Collins has unveiled a range of law changes to crack down on corruption, organised crime and bribery in New Zealand.

The minister tabled the Organised Crime and Anti-corruption Legislation Bill in Parliament this afternoon.

It includes requirements for banks to report international transactions, new identity theft offences, and harsher penalties for private sector bribery and corruption offences.

Mrs Collins said the changes would give law enforcement agencies more power to deal with organised crime and corruption, and would help New Zealand fulfil its international obligations.

“New Zealand is consistently regarded as one of the least corrupt countries in the world. However we cannot afford to be complacent — we must remain vigilant,” she said.

If the bill passed into law, banks and financial institutions would have to help Government detect money-laundering by reporting all international wire transfers of more than $1000 and all physical cash transactions of more than $10,000 to the police’s Financial Intelligence Unit. [Read more…]