Rātā Foundation

Date Made

Date signed: 2026-06-29

Sectors

Nonbank non-deposit taking lenders (NBNDTLs)

Enacting statement

In accordance with section 157 of the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism Act 2009 (“the Act”), the Associate Minister of Justice hereby gives notice that she has granted the following exemption from the Act:

Ministerial Exemption: Rātā Foundation

Commencement date

This exemption comes into force on 2026-06-29

End date

This exemption will expire on 2031-06-29

Exemption

As the Associate Minister of Justice, and pursuant to section 157 of the Act, I exempt Rātā Foundation (Rātā) from the following provisions of the Act: 

1. 1. Sections 10-71 (inclusive) 

Conditions

This exemption is made subject to the following conditions: 

1. 1. Rātā must maintain a close relationship with its loan recipients; 
   2. Rātā must continue to manually monitor the transactions to ensure that they are made in accordance with its loan policy, and that any suspicious activity can be readily identified; and
   3. Rātā must inform the Ministry of Justice of any changes that may affect the exemption within 10 working days of when the change occurs. 

Statement of reasons

The exemption has been made for the following reasons: 

1. 1. There is a low risk of money laundering and terrorism financing through PPS because: 
      1. Rātā provides a low level of loans to organisations that meet specific and clearly defined criteria, including requirements relating to structure, controls, procedures, governance, and a clear link to the community that will benefit from the funding.  
      2. Rātā only provides loans to not-for-profit organisations in the Canterbury, Nelson/Tasman, Marlborough, and Chatham Island regions.
      3. Rātā establishes and maintains close relationships with the organisations it provides loans to.
      4. Rātā does not provide loans through a third-party channel or intermediary.
      5. Rātā’s transactions are regularly monitored to ensure they comply with its trust deed, charitable purpose, and loan policy, and to identify any suspicious activity.
      6. All transactions are electronic, with no cash transactions involved. 
   2. The obligations imposed on Rātā would be disproportionate given the low risk of money laundering and terrorism financing.
   3. The exemption granted has a low impact on the integrity of the anti-money laundering and countering financing of terrorism system in alignment with section 157 of the Act. 

Contact

Any person wishing to provide comment on this notice should contact the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism Team at the Ministry of Justice by emailing amlcft.exemptions@justice.govt.nz.

Corrigendum

Previous exemptions

Rātā Foundation