New software to weed out dodgy clients

Australian IT firm Neurocom offers a software program called Membercheck, which allows advisers and other firms to scan their clients against watchlists compiled by Dow Jones featuring more than 600,000 names.

Under New Zealand’s anti-money laundering legislation, reporting entities including Authorised Financial Advisers are required to perform enhanced due diligence on overseas PEPs (politically exposed persons) including close relatives and associates of politicians. 

Enhanced due diligence includes having to find out the source of the funds being invested.  The law doesn’t require this for local PEPs.

However, getting access to lists compiled by the likes of Dow Jones can be difficult and prohibitively expensive for reporting entities at the bottom of the chain, according to Neurocom chief executive Ross Edenborough.