The Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) has filed civil proceedings in the Wellington High Court against The Co‑operative Bank, with both parties jointly recommending a $1.425 million penalty for breaches of the Anti‑Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism Act 2009.

The regulator identified three core failures in the bank’s AML/CFT programme, dating back to at least 2020:

• Transaction monitoring rules were not operating correctly

• Assurance testing of account and transaction monitoring was inadequate

• Required AML/CFT records were not properly maintained

These weaknesses meant the bank failed to identify higher‑risk transactions and customers, and did not conduct timely enhanced due diligence.

The bank has admitted liability for all three causes of action. Importantly, authorities emphasised that there is no allegation the bank was involved in money laundering or terrorism financing — the issue relates to compliance failures, not criminal activity.

This is the second AML/CFT civil action filed by the RBNZ in six months, signalling a stronger enforcement posture ahead of New Zealand’s shift to a single AML/CFT supervisor (the Department of Internal Affairs) from July 2026.

https://www.rbnz.govt.nz/news-and-events/news/2026/05/reserve-bank-files-high-court-action-against-the-co-operative-bank