Gang assets targeted in law change plans
WELLINGTON: It will be easier for the police to seize illicit assets of criminals under a law change announced by the Government yesterday.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced a ‘‘raft’’ of changes which were intended to strip gangs of the benefits of criminal activity.
The changes amend the Criminal Proceeds (Recovery) Act, expanding its measures to cover associates.
That means that if someone is associated with an organised criminal group and it is suspected they could not have funded their assets legitimately, they will be required to prove to the court how they came to possess them — or face having them seized.
The threshold will be about $30,000 ‘‘unaccounted for’’, and the Government expects to seize about $25 million more due to the law change.
Ms Ardern said there were not many countries which had ventured into that space.
‘‘This is the next frontier.’’ There were tests in place to make sure the right people were being targeted, including listening to experts and police, she said.
On the $30,000 threshold, Ms Ardern said there had been ‘‘a range of views’’.
The Government was keeping an open mind and police would like to see it lower, she said.
Justice Minister Kiri Allan said the change was about ‘‘ensuring crime doesn’t pay and that there are major consequences for criminal and gang activity’’.
Under the current regime, ‘‘organised criminals structure their affairs to avoid their illicit assets being restrained and forfeited’’, she said.
‘‘This is done by creating distance between themselves and the assets by putting property into associates’ names,’’ she said.
The law change will grant police new powers to target the associates of organised criminal groups and restrain their property, when it is clear their legitimate finances would have been unlikely to have enabled them to acquire the assets.
It will also create a new court order that will mean criminals based overseas who have assets in New Zealand will face losing those assets, unless they can provide proof within two months that they obtained their property legally.
The law change will also allow the Government to seize the funds in KiwiSaver funds, eliminating the potential for criminals to hide illegal funds in their KiwiSavers.
National has already come out against the changes.
Police spokesman Mark Mitchell said while he supported seizing gang assets, the Bill missed the bigger issue.
‘‘They are not going to make any tangible impact right now on the amount of gang violence and gun violence that we’re currently experiencing,’’ Mitchell said.
Act New Zealand called the Bill a ‘‘Uturn’’.
Act justice spokeswoman Nicole McKee said Labour had ‘‘finally accepted the logic Act has been promoting for years — if you want to tackle the gangs you need to hit them where they hurt, their wallets’’. — The