紐西蘭政府公佈了一系列反洗錢（AML）改革法案，旨在「減少不必要的官僚主義」。
其中兩項法案，即《法規修正案》和《反洗錢和打擊恐怖主義融資修正案》，正在議會審議中，預計將於 2025 年底頒布。另外兩項法案，即新的《反洗錢和打擊恐怖主義融資（監督、徵稅和其他事項）修正案》和《反洗錢和打擊恐怖主義融資（綜合）修正案》，其條款現在才逐步公佈，預計將於 2026 年下半年頒布。
這四項法案將在不久的將來對反洗錢制度做出重大改變。這將包括新的金融制裁監管制度和徵稅，以及與家族信託互動的指定非金融企業或專業人士（例如房地產經紀人或會計師）的新職責。
其中一項新措施將簡化出售家族信託持有的「風險明顯較低」的家庭住宅的規則。房地產經紀人將不再需要收集所有受益人、子女、受託人和律師的姓名和地址，以及詳細的解釋和證明房屋付款方式的文件。
政府表示：「對成千上萬的紐西蘭人來說，設立家庭信託是保障其財務未來的一部分，尤其是在涉及住房的情況下。但在現行的反洗錢制度下，出售信託持有的房屋會引發繁瑣的文件驗證和合規性檢查，而這些檢查與實際風險幾乎無關。」新的簡化客戶盡職調查 (CDD)程序僅需確認所有權和受託人資訊與產權證書相符；核實所有者的身份證明文件及其作為受託人的身份；並保留信託契約副本。
第二項措施將允許銀行採用簡化流程，驗證兒童開設銀行帳戶的身份，前提是該帳戶風險較低，例如交易金額適當。根據這項改革，銀行可能只需要出生證明即可確認兒童的身份及其與開戶父母的關係。
第三項措施將賦予警方和監管機構更大的執法權力，以打擊金融犯罪。同時，將建立新的金融制裁監督制度，並在協商後徵收稅款，用於資助反洗錢改善工作。國際現金轉帳上限將設定為5,000紐西蘭元，以限制犯罪資金流動，並禁止使用加密貨幣自動櫃員機，以減少非法現金轉換為高風險資產。金融情報部門將持續向銀行和企業索取信息，並收集相關人員的相關財務數據。
第四項措施將納入新的《反洗錢和打擊恐怖主義融資（綜合）修正案》，旨在「打擊犯罪分子，避免用繁文縟節阻礙合法企業和普通民眾」。這些措施將支持基於風險的客戶盡職調查 (CDD) 方法，以支持實施定向金融制裁及其他修正案。
律師事務所強調，新的盡職調查指南必須清楚明確。 「[內政部]需要提供明確的指導，以確保報告實體在改革範圍內運營，」銘德律師事務所表示。 “鑑於改革範圍廣泛，內政部應盡可能提前提供全面的指導，以便報告實體了解改革對其業務的影響。”
Simpson Grierson 律師事務所表示：「如果新的設置需要判斷什麼是‘低風險’，這不可避免地會導致複雜性和成本增加。」該公司補充道，內政部的監管指南需要向企業準確展示如何應用這些簡化的檢查，而無需擔心受到處罰。 「基於風險的方法可能會導致不同的報告實體做出不同的判斷……我們必須拭目以待，看看這種簡化是否能夠實現，而不是簡單地用一套複雜性來取代另一套複雜性。」該公司表示。
New Zealand AML reforms aim to simplify family trust regulation
A series of anti-money laundering (AML) reform Bills have been announced by the New Zealand government, with the aim of 'cutting through unnecessary bureaucracy'.
Two of the Bills, the Statutes Amendment Bill and Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism Amendment Bill, are making their way through parliament and are expected to be enacted by the end of 2025. The provisions of the other two Bills, the new Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism (Supervisor, Levy and Other Matters) Amendment Bill and the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism (Omnibus) Amendment Bill, are only now being gradually revealed and are expected to be enacted in the second half of 2026.
Together, the four Bills will make significant changes to the AML regime in the near future. This would include a new financial sanctions supervisory regime and levy, as well as new duties for designated non-financial businesses or professions such as real estate agents or accountants who interact with family trusts.
One of the new measures will simplify the rules for selling family homes held in a family trust where the sale is 'clearly low risk'. Real estate agents will no longer have to collect names and addresses of all beneficiaries, children, trustees and lawyers, along with a detailed explanation and documents to prove how the home was paid for.
'For thousands of New Zealanders, setting up a family trust is part of securing their financial future, especially when it comes to their home', said the government. '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.' The new simplified customer due-diligence (CDD) procedure will require only confirmation that the ownership and trustee details match the certificate of title; verifying the owner's identity documents and their role as trustees; and retaining a copy of the trust deed.
A second measure will allow banks to apply simplified processes to verify a child's identity to open a bank account, provided the account is low risk, for example, with appropriate transaction amounts. Under this change, banks may need only a birth certificate to confirm a child's identity and relationship to the parent opening the child's bank account.
The third set of measures will give the police and regulators increased enforcement powers to target financial crime. At the same time, a new financial sanctions supervisory regime will be established, and a levy to fund AML improvements will be brought in after consultation. International cash transfers will be capped at NZD5,000 to limit criminal fund movement and crypto automatic cash machines will be banned to reduce conversion of illicit cash into high-risk assets. The Financial Intelligence Unit will request ongoing information from banks and businesses and collect contextual financial data on persons of interest.
A fourth package will be included in a new Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism (Omnibus) Amendment Bill to 'target criminals, not clogging up legitimate businesses and everyday people with red tape'. These measures will enable a risk-based approach to CDD, support the implementation of targeted financial sanctions, and other amendments.
Law firms stressed the need for clarity in the new due-diligence guidelines. 'Clear guidance is required from the [Department of Internal Affairs] to ensure reporting entities are operating within the bounds of the reforms', said law firm Minter Ellison. 'With a wide range of important reforms, it is important that the DIA provides comprehensive guidance as far in advance as possible, allowing reporting entities to understand the implications for their business.'
'If the new settings require judgement about what is “low risk”, this inevitably leads to complexity and cost', said law firm Simpson Grierson. Regulatory guidance from the Department of Internal Affairs will need to show businesses exactly how to apply these simplified checks without fear of penalty, it added. 'Risk-based approaches can lead to different judgements by different reporting entities...we will have to wait and see if this simplification can be achieved without simply exchanging one set of complexity for another', it said.
Sources
• Minter Ellison
• Simpson Grierson
• NZ Ministry of Justice (PDF)
• STEP International News 7 April 2025: New trust disclosure rules increased compliance costs, says New Zealand tax authority