The Auckland City Financial Crime Unit are making arrests as investigations continue into reports of a scam type involving term deposits, duping victims out of millions of dollars.

This month a third significant arrest has been made for Money Laundering.

It comes after warnings to the public of the emerging sophisticated scam making the rounds, which involves a victim searching term deposits online.

The victim finds a bank they want to go with and provide their contact details on a ‘bank’ website, which is in fact a fake website run by a scammer.

The ‘bank’ then calls the victim to open a new term deposit, the victim transfers money into a New Zealand-based account held by a money mule who then sends the funds offshore.

Recently, Police executed a search warrant at a money mules address in West Auckland, seizing electronic evidence as part of an ongoing investigation into this type of offending.

Late last week, the money mule, a 60-year-old Auckland man was arrested and charged with two counts of money laundering. He is due to appear in the Auckland District Court on 8 June.

Police will allege the man involved is directly linked to two recent cases where two victims lost $950,000 and nearly $1 million respectively in this term deposit-style scam.

While this is a significant loss, Police are working closely with the banks to recover some of these funds and have since recovered more than $600,000 to date for one victim.

The arrest is the third instance that the Auckland City Financial Crime unit prosecuted in recent weeks.

Last month, Police arrested a 54-year-old in relation to an ongoing investigation into Money Laundering, which was reported to Police in February.

The man is before the Auckland District Court on multiple counts of money laundering. He is due to reappear on 1 August 2023 for a Case Review Hearing.

In a second incident, which involved a victim transferring $100,000 into a NZ based account, a second 54-year-old man is before the Court, also charged with Money Laundering and due to reappear on 15th June 2023.

This man has been charged with two counts of money laundering, the second charge of which relates to a separate victim.

Detectives from the Auckland based Financial Investigation Unit, travelled to Hamilton to locate this 54-year-old man, who later handed himself into Police.

While these are fantastic results for the victims involved, Police are reminding the community that unfortunately there are still people out there looking to exploit our most vulnerable members of the community.

Detective Senior Sergeant Craig Bolton, Officer in Charge of the Auckland City District Financial Crime Unit, has a clear message for money mules:

“If you are receiving money into your account from people you have not met and don’t know and keeping some of the money for yourself before sending the bulk of the money overseas - you are a money mule and you could be arrested and prosecuted for Money Laundering.

“If you think you are laundering money, I recommend that you advise your bank immediately and seriously consider self-reporting to the Police, rather than the Police knocking on your door with a search warrant or to arrest you.”

If you are the victim of one of these scams, we acknowledge the financial distress this can cause.

If you or someone you know is looking into term deposits, we urge you to be cautious and note the following advice:

- Search for ‘broker’ companies online before engaging with them
- Do your research - the Financial Market Authority (FMA) frequently publishes the names of suspicious companies on their website
- Talk to your bank or other finance professional before making online investments.

As always, sadly there is never a shortage of scams that the public should be aware of.

- We advise the public to keep an eye out for anything that doesn’t appear right
- Emails and social media scams are especially prevalent
- We urge anyone who sees something online they think might be attractive or a great deal to do their research, speak to friends and family, check with the FMA, and be vigilant about anything that seems out of the ordinary.

If you wish to report a social media scam, contact Police on 105 or report it online.

Information can also be provided anonymously via Crime Stoppers on 0800 555 111.

• What is a money mule?

• A money mule is someone who transfers illegally acquired money on behalf of someone else.
• They help launder the proceeds derived from online scams and fraud by allowing their personal bank account to receive money before the money mule transfers the money to an overseas bank account.
• A money mule receives a commission for their part in this crime, which normally involves retaining some of the money in their personal bank account before transferring the bulk amount overseas.
• Money mules in New Zealand have been recruited by overseas criminals & scammers.

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