NZ AML/CFT Compliance Officer study guide
NZ AML/CFT Compliance Officer · Work through your exam, one topic at a time.
The New Zealand AML/CFT Compliance Officer credential is a professional certification for people who carry, or are preparing to carry, the compliance officer function under New Zealand's anti-money-laundering and countering-financing-of-terrorism regime. It is aimed at compliance officers, MLRO-equivalents, risk and assurance staff, and advisers in banks, insurers, non-bank deposit takers, financial advisers, trust and company service providers, and other reporting entities supervised under the AML/CFT Act. The NZ AML/CFT Compliance Officer study guide has 7 sections and about 2,168 words.
01The NZ AML/CFT Regulatory Framework and Core Obligations
The regime sits under the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism Act 2009 (the Act), supported by regulations and by supervisor-issued guidelines. Three supervisors divide the market: the Reserve Bank of New Zealand (banks, non-bank deposit takers, life insurers, NZ-registered branches of foreign banks), the Financial Markets Authority (financial advisers, brokers, fund managers, derivatives issuers, trustee companies), and the Department of Internal Affairs (casinos, remittance and money-changing, trust and company service providers, and other non-financial businesses).
329 words, about 2 min02Risk Assessment and the Risk-Based Approach
Candidates must distinguish institutional risk assessment (the reporting entity's own ML/TF risk, covering customers, products/services, delivery channels, and countries/geographies) from customer risk assessment (the risk of a particular relationship). The institutional assessment drives the programme; the customer assessment drives the level of CDD applied.
302 words, about 2 min03Customer Due Diligence, Enhanced CDD, and Simplified CDD
Standard CDD requires you to identify the customer, verify their identity, identify the beneficial owner , establish the nature and purpose of the relationship, and conduct ongoing CDD . Identity verification follows the Identity Verification Code of Practice - typically an official photo document plus a second source, or electronic verification of equivalent assurance.
316 words, about 2 min04Beneficial Ownership and Identity Verification
A beneficial owner is the natural person who ultimately owns or controls the customer - or the person on whose behalf a transaction is conducted. For companies, look through layers to the individuals who ultimately own or control.
313 words, about 2 min05Ongoing CDD and Transaction Monitoring
Ongoing CDD is not a one-off onboarding step. It requires you to keep customer information current , monitor transactions and activity , and review the relationship on a risk-based cycle.
277 words, about 1 min06Suspicious Activity Reporting and Prescribed Transaction Reporting
A reporting entity must report to the FIU where it has reasonable grounds to suspect that a transaction or activity may be money laundering or terrorist financing , or that funds are proceeds of crime. The threshold is suspicion , not proof.
304 words, about 2 min07Compliance Programme, Governance, and Record Keeping
Every reporting entity must maintain a written AML/CFT programme derived from its risk assessment. It must cover: policies and procedures , CDD and EDD processes , monitoring and reporting , designation of a compliance officer , staff training , independent audit/review , and record keeping .
327 words, about 2 min