In accordance with section 157(6)(b) of the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism Act 2009 ("the Act"), the Minister of Justice hereby gives notice that she has granted the following exemptions from the AML/CFT Act:
Ministerial Exemption: South Canterbury Women's Loan Fund Trust
1. As the Minister of Justice, pursuant to section 157
of the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism Act 2009 ("the Act"), I exempt South Canterbury Women's Loan Fund Trust from all provisions of the Act.
2. This exemption has been made for the following reasons:
(a) There is a low risk of money laundering and terrorist financing through South Canterbury Women's Loan Fund Trust as:
(i) it is a not for profit organisation that charges no interest, nor pays any interest on funds loaned to customers;
(ii) it limits its lending to offering low value low volume loans to allow women to access
safe funding for employment, business or educational purposes;
(iii) it offers defined and limited services to specific customers with robust internal processes that confirm the identity of the applicants and the purpose for which loans provided will be used;
(iv) trustees make the final decision on all lending applications and retain control of the use of funds of the organisation for lending purposes; and
(v) it meets the criteria of a "low risk" financial inclusion institution under FATF guidelines, making it suitable for a full exemption.
3. The obligations imposed on South Canterbury Women's Loan Fund Trust would be disproportionate given the low risk of money laundering or terrorist financing in
the circumstances outlined in this exemption.
4. This exemption comes into force on the day after the date I grant this exemption (13 March 2014).
5. This exemption will expire will expire on 30 June 2018.
Ministerial Exemption: Auckland Women's Loan Fund
1. As the Minister of Justice, pursuant to section 157 of the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism Act 2009 (the Act), I exempt Auckland Women's Loan Fund (AWLF) from all provisions of
the Act.
2. This exemption has been made for the following reasons:
(a) There is a low risk of money laundering and terrorist financing through Auckland Women's Loan Fund as:
(i) it is a not for profit organisation that charges no interest, nor pays any interest on funds loaned to customers;
(ii) it limits its lending to offering low value low volume loans to allow women to access safe funding for employment, business or educational purposes;
(iii) it offers defined and limited services to specific customers with robust internal processes that confirm the identity of the applicants and the purpose for which loans provided will be used;
(iv) trustees make the final decision on all lending applications and retain control of the use of funds of the organisation for lending purposes; and
(v) it meets the criteria of a "low risk" financial inclusion institution under FATF guidelines, making it suitable for a full exemption.
3. The obligations imposed on Auckland Women's Loan Fund would be disproportionate given the low risk of money laundering or terrorist financing in the circumstances outlined in this exemption.
4. This exemption comes into force on the day after the date I grant this exemption (13 March 2014).
5. This exemption will expire will expire on 30 June 2018.
Ministerial Exemption: GMI General Partner Limited
1. As the Minister of Justice and pursuant to section 157 of the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism Act 2009 ("the Act"), I exempt GMI General Partner (GMI) from Part 2 of the Act in relation to its role as general partner of Gareth Morgan Investments Limited Partnership (the Limited Partnership).
2. This exemption is subject to the following conditions:
(a) That the Limited Partnership complies with all of its obligations under the AML/CFT Act;
(b) this exemption only applies in relation to the current activities carried out by GMI as general partner of the Limited Partnership; and
(c) if GMI's business activities change in a material way, in that it is required to carry out further activities which fall within the ambit of the AML/CFT Act, GMI is required to notify the Ministry of Justice and the Financial Markets Authority and undertake to work with those bodies to agree how to manage
any risks.
3. This exemption has been made for the following reasons:
(a) While the Limited Partnership is subject to obligations under the Act due to the financial activities it carries out, GMI is only subject to the Act due to its managerial duties in relation to the Limited Partnership, which amounts to unintended capture:
(i) GMI is the general partner of the Limited Partnership, which is a reporting entity under the Act due to its role as promoter of the GMI Superannuation Scheme and the Gareth Morgan KiwiSaver Scheme and the financial activities it carries out in relation to those schemes;
(ii) a general partner is responsible for managing the Limited Partnership under the Limited Partnerships Act 2008, with functions similar to those of a director of a company;
(iii) due to it being the general partner of the Limited Partnership, GMI is listed as the promoter of the GMI Superannuation Scheme, and provides financial services via the Limited Partnership, and therefore is considered to be a reporting entity;
(iv) if the Limited Partnership were a company rather than a limited partnership, the director of that company would not be a reporting entity under the Act;
(b) GMI does not have any customers, establish business relationships with any customers, or undertake transactions on behalf of customers or at
a customer's request; these functions are all carried out by the Limited Partnership who is subject to the Act;
(c) Without this exemption, the compliance burden for GMI would be an unnecessary duplication given the Limited Partnership will practically cover any AML/CFT interaction;
(d) Granting this exemption would have very little impact on the money laundering or terrorist financing risks faced by the Limited Partnership.
4. This exemption will come into force on the day after the date that I have approved it (13 March 2014).
5. This exemption will expire on 30 June 2018.
Ministerial Exemption: Eligible Service
Superannuation Schemes
1. In my capacity as the Minister of Justice and pursuant to section 157 of the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism Act 2009 (the Act)
I partially exempt the Trustees of the Board of Administration of the Methodist Church of New Zealand, the Presbyterian Church Property Trustees of the Presbyterian Church of Aotearoa New Zealand, and
the New Zealand Anglican Church Pension Board (each a Board and together, the Boards), from the provisions of Part 2 of the Act in relation to services provided in respect of the following funds:
(a) The Supernumerary Fund of the Methodist Church of New Zealand (Methodist Fund);
(b) the Beneficiary Fund of the Presbyterian Church of Aotearoa New Zealand (Presbyterian Fund); and
(c) the New Zealand Anglican Church Pension Fund (Anglican Fund),
(together referred to as the Funds).
2. This exemption is subject to the following conditions:
(a) Subject to paragraphs 3 and 4 below, the Boards are required to remove any mechanisms contained in the Trust Deed for each of the Funds that enable members to contribute to the Funds voluntarily other than through payroll.
(b) The Funds must remain registered superannuation schemes as defined under the Superannuation Schemes Act 1989 or registered under the Financial Markets Conduct Act 2013 as applicable.
(c) With the exception of Australian superannuation transfers to the Funds (if applicable) and, in the case of the Anglican Fund, contributions from the Diocese of Polynesia which are made through payroll, customer due diligence in accordance with sections 10 to 36 of the Act and suspicious transaction reports in accordance with sections 40 to 48 of the Act and, where the transaction is relevant to a suspicious transaction report, transaction records in accordance with sections 49(1) and (2)(a) to (f) of the Act are required on all contributions and transfers to the Funds from international sources.
3. The Trust Deed may permit:
(a) voluntary contributions made other than through payroll to those sections of the Funds which are subject to restrictions set out in the complying superannuation fund rules provided there is a cap
on the amount of any non-payroll voluntary contributions made in a KiwiSaver year. The cap should be set at the amount (after taking into account any contribution through payroll) required to enable a member to maximise, in respect of that year, those government contributions set out in section MK 4 of the Income Tax Act 2007; and
(b) voluntary contributions made other than through payroll for the purpose of purchasing additional pensionable service, provided that the Funds undertake enhanced customer due diligence on every member who applies to purchase service by making such contributions.
4. The Trust Deed for each of the Funds may permit contributions to be made other than through payroll by a member to the relevant Fund during a permitted period of unpaid leave of absence (Regular Leave of Absence Contributions) where:
(a) the employer or the Fund's administrator collects those contributions; and
(b) the contributions do not exceed (as to either amount or frequency) the contributions that were being paid by the relevant member in accordance with the trust deed for the Fund immediately prior to the member commencing leave of absence.
5. Where any Regular Leave of Absence Contributions are received from international sources during the permitted period of unpaid leave of absence, the following sections of the Act apply to such contributions:
(a) Sections 10 to 18 of the Act (and for the purposes of section 14(d) of the Act the receipt of a contribution from an international source is specified as a circumstance in which standard customer due diligence must be conducted);
(b) sections 40 to 48 of the Act;
(c) where the transaction is relevant to a suspicious transaction report, sections 49(1) and 2(a) to (f) of the Act; and
(d) sections 92 to 100 of the Act.
6. Where any withdrawals are made by a member in addition to that member making Regular Leave of Absence Contributions during the permitted period
of unpaid leave of absence the following sections of
the Act apply to such withdrawals and contributions:
(a) Sections 10 to 18 of the Act (and for the purposes of section 14(d) of the Act the first such withdrawal is specified as a circumstance in which standard customer due diligence must be conducted);
(b) sections 40 to 48 of the Act;
(c) where the transaction is relevant to a suspicious transaction report, sections 49(1) and (2)(a) to (f) of the Act; and
(d) sections 92 to 100 of the Act.
7. The exemption has been granted for the following reasons:
(a) The Boards' only duties as reporting entities under the Act are in respect of the Funds;
(b) the Funds pose a very low risk of money laundering or terrorism financing;
(c) any risks posed by voluntary contributions outside of payroll have been addressed by the conditions;
(d) due to the very low money laundering and terrorism financing risks raised by the Funds and the significant compliance costs that would arise from not granting this exemption, I consider that any benefits of requiring compliance with the Act are not justified by the associated costs; and
(e) this exemption is consistent with (and has no effect on the purpose or intent of) the Act, the Financial Transactions Reporting Act 1996 and New Zealand's international obligations as a member of the Financial Action Taskforce and the Asia Pacific Group on Money Laundering.
8. This exemption comes into force on the day after the date I grant this exemption (13 March 2014).
9. This exemption will expire on 30 June 2018.
Any person wishing to provide comment on these notices should contact the Criminal Law Team at the Ministry of Justice by emailing international.crime@justice.govt.nz