Rūnanga wary of money laundering
Suggestion of a link between ‘P’ users and organised crime in Gore
Gore’s Hokonui Ru¯ nanga believes money laundering may be happening in the Gore District as part of organised crime.
The claim has been made in a submission to the Gore District Council’s draft gambling policy and TAB venues policy, which will be heard next week.
In the submission, Joann Brand says an initial assessment by youth and social workers indicates ‘‘problem gambling is present in our communities for families in social services’’.
‘‘It has also come to our attention . . . that there seems to be a link between P users and gambling practices which indicates a money laundering process may also be employed by organised crime locally.’’
Brand does not elaborate on how the money laundering process works, or who specifically is involved, in the submission.
Department of Internal Affairs data show that in 2019, there were seven gambling venues in the Gore District and a total of 89 gaming machines.
In the same year, $3.5 million was lost on class-4 pokie machines, an increase of $327,707 since 2018, and $358,000 had been returned as grants to the Gore community.
The ru¯ nanga was one of five organisations that made a submission to a review of the policy. It was the only one that claimed there could be a money laundering operation in place.
Submissions on the policy were called in 2019, but a hearing would not be held until next week.
Last month, council chief executive Steve Parry said the review had ‘‘been a victim of staff changes, flooding and Covid-19’’.
A hearing had been scheduled for March, but it was cancelled after councillor Doug Grant declared a conflict of interest because his business had a Lotto agency. He withdrew as a member of the panel and was replaced by councillor Bret Highsted.
The hearing will be held on Wednesday, May 12.