New Zealand c.bank warns NAB’s local unit over anti-money laundering breaches

A security guard stands outside the main entrance to the Reserve Bank of New Zealand located in central Wellington, New Zealand, July 3, 2017. Picture taken July 3, 2017. REUTERS/David Gray

July 8 (Reuters) – New Zealand’s central bank on Friday said it had issued a formal warning to National Australia Bank’s (NAB.AX) local unit for breaching rules against money laundering and terrorism financing between November 2018 and April 2020.

NAB’s Bank of New Zealand (BNZ) did not report accurate locations for around 50,000 local and physical cash transactions during the period, the central bank said.

However, BNZ promptly rectified the issue and identified the problem as a “technical coding error”, it added.

The Reserve Bank of New Zealand highlighted its formal warning to BNZ as an example to other organisations towards their obligation to regulations for anti-money laundering and countering financing of terrorism.

Reporting by Roushni Nair in Bengluru; Editing by Devika Syamnath

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