Derivatives trader CLSA Premium New Zealand has been ordered to pay NZ$770,000 (US$547,000, €463,000) by the country’s high court for breaking anti money laundering laws on almost NZ$50m of suspicious transactions.

The company had admitted breaching the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism Act by failing to conduct enhanced customer due diligence on 12 transactions and carry out due diligence on one customer.

The company also accepted failures to terminate existing business relationships when customer due diligence could not be completed, failing to report suspicious transactions and activity on nine occasions, and failing to keep records in accordance with the law, the NZ Herald newspaper reported.

The short comings took place between April 2015 and November 2018.

Regulator Financial Markets Authority (FMA) argued for a fine of NZ$1.2m; CLSAP contended NZ$420,000 was fair. In a reserved decision, Justice Rebecca Edwards imposed one of NZ$770,000.

The Auckland-headquartered company, formerly known as KVB Kunlun New Zealand Limited, is a subsidiary of CLSA Premium Limited of Hong Kong.

 

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