WELLINGTON, Dec 12 (Reuters) - New Zealand's central bank said on Monday it had issued a formal warning to Aotearoa Credit Union for failing to meet anti-money laundering rules between 2013 and 2015.
The Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) said the North Island credit union had not carried out customer due diligence checks and account monitoring or fulfilled its obligations to report suspicious transactions.
The credit union had struck a court-enforceable agreement with the RBNZ to review its anti-money laundering programme, the central bank said in a written statement.
Aotearoa Credit Union has seven branches throughout the North Island and lent about NZ$10 million ($7.12 million) in 2015, according to its annual report.
The RBNZ is one of three New Zealand anti-money laundering regulators, covering banks and credit unions.
The country's rules will be rolled out to cover lawyers, real estate agents and accountants next year, though the government has not yet established which agency will supervise these professions. ($1 = 1.4039 New Zealand dollars)
