Whitianga realtor ticked off over money laundering audit lapse

Friday, 19 June 2026

A Whitianga real estate agency has been formally warned by the Department of Internal Affairs (DIA) for failing to complete required independent anti-money laundering audits.

Countryman Realty Ltd, trading as Beach Realty, was one of 10 companies named by the department in a co-ordinated enforcement action following a recent review.

The department said the entities, which included six law firms, one payment provider, an accounting service provider, a non-bank lender, and the real estate agency, had each failed to undertake an independent audit of their Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) programme and risk assessment “on at least two occasions”.

Beach Realty director Mark Hall said he’d learned his lesson, and was in no way connected to any nefarious activity.

“Quite simply, we missed an audit,” he said.

“We’ve gone through this learning curve, implemented new systems, got an external auditor, audited ourselves, and reported back to Internal Affairs,” he said.

“Everything that we’ve done, we’ve done right now.”

The DIA’s AML/CFT acting director Laura Olsen said it was the first time the department had issued multiple formal warnings for failing to complete a required independent audit.

“[This] action signals a clear expectation that reporting entities must comply with their legal obligations,” she said.

“These exist to protect us from financial crime, by helping us spot gaps in the system that could allow dirty money to slip through.”

Olsen said independent audits were not simply a compliance exercise.

“Independent audits help us check whether a reporting entity’s AML/CFT programme actually works, identify gaps, and ensures compliance isn’t just paper-based.

“Many crimes tied to money laundering harm ordinary people. Strong AML/CFT controls reduce these risks.”

Hall said he believed his company was meeting its obligations, but had not realised it needed an external auditor as well as other checks.

“We thought we were following the rules and guidelines, and we’re only a small business,” he said.

“What we overlooked as a company is that we get audited through Internal Affairs annually. What we didn’t realise is that we needed to have an external auditor.”

Hall said he’d been selling real estate for 30 years and had since worked through the issue with the department.

He said a DIA staff member had taken the business through a process from about December last year, advising what it had and had not done in relation to regulatory changes.

“What we did is we went on a pathway of learning, discovering, and upgrading all our systems,” he said.

Hall said his agency was now using First AML, a New Zealand-Australian company, and had completed an external audit.

Hall said he understood the breach was significant, but said the formal warning did not involve a fine.

He said the new compliance process had added costs to the business, including about $2500 for the audit, as well as ongoing compliance costs.

Hall said he had found the AML requirements complex, but said officials had been helpful during the process.

“Everyone on the pathway’s been very helpful, even Internal Affairs,” he said.

Olsen said the department’s broader goal was to support reporting entities to understand and meet their AML/CFT obligations.

“Strong compliance frameworks deliver benefits across the system. We are committed to working alongside industry to achieve this,” she said.