FX trader Jin Yuan Finance warned over lack of monitoring
FX trader Jin Yuan Finance warned over anti-money laundering controls
By Paul McBeth
Sept. 2
(BusinessDesk) - Jin Yuan Finance, an Auckland-based foreign
exchange trader, has been warned over its lack of anti-money
laundering processes in place in the first public
notification by the Department of Internal Affairs.
The FX trader, whose sole director and shareholder is Auckland-based Rex Young, was warned on July 7 for failing to conduct customer due diligence, adequately monitor accounts and transactions, keep adequate records, have an anti-money laundering programme, or ensure its branches met the legislation, the DIA said in a statement.
The
government agency has issued 13 formal warnings under the
Anti-Money Laundering/Countering Financing of Terrorism Act
since the legislation first came into effect, but hasn't
made any public in the past. DIA supervises firms not
covered by the Financial Markets Authority or the Reserve
Bank. It decided to make this warning public because of the
seriousness of the failings, which were ongoing and
extensive.
“The investigations identified that Jin
Yuan Finance had failed to establish, implement and maintain
an adequate and effective AML/CFT programme,” said Maarten
Quivooy, DIA general manager of regulatory
services.
The AML/CFT legislation came into effect in
mid-2013, increasing the monitoring of financial firms in a
bid to stamp out as much as $1.5 billion of money
laundering. Lenders bear the cost of increased compliance,
and the government is now looking at extending those
obligations to professionals such as accountants and
lawyers.
The DIA will monitor Jin Yuan Finance to ensure it introduces processes to comply with the legislation, and will consider if further enforcement action is appropriate, including court imposed penalties or undertakings.
The
department can issue formal warnings for conduct that
attracts a civil penalty rather than criminal
sanctions.
The DIA weighs up the benefits of
encouraging firms to comply with the legislation against
minimising harm in deciding whether to notify the public of
a warning, it
said.
(BusinessDesk)