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An anti-money laundering expert is warning gaps still remain in New Zealand's legislation, despite a raft of changes to the regime in recent years and months.
The Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism Act facilitates co-operation among reporting entities, and various government agencies, in an effort to detect and deter financial crime.
In October 2022 Cabinet agreed to Ministry of Justice recommendations which came into effect in a staggered way between July 2023 and June 2025, after a review found there were ways to tighten the regime.
But concerns over red tape and the cost pressures the regime places on reporting entities - some of which are small businesses with minimal resources has lead to further clarification and tweaking of the system.
One example of this was a recent change - just in November of 2025 - which means people no longer need to have their home addresses verified by their bank or other agency in order to open an account.
But while a lot has been changing, expert Kerry Grass says critical gaps remain. Kerry has more than 20 years experience working in financial crime prevention and the anti-money laundering field.
She is the co-founder of compliance tech company AML 360.
