Arrest and charges made by New Zealand Police as part of Operation Brookings
A New Zealand man has been arrested and charged with money laundering involving cryptocurrency transactions and the purchase of luxury vehicles.
According to reporting by the NZ Herald, a 40‑year‑old man from Auckland faces 30 charges, the majority related to money laundering. Court documents allege he collected thousands of New Zealand dollars to purchase cryptocurrency in a series of laundering transactions and used proceeds to buy high‑end cars. Among the vehicles named are a Lamborghini valued at NZD 634,026 and a black Mercedes G63 valued at NZD 435,066.
Authorities also allege the man laundered just over NZD 2.6 million, funds later used to purchase a property in East Auckland. Another charge claims he was in possession of an undisclosed amount of cash for laundering from an individual at Auckland Airport earlier this year. He is additionally accused of obtaining, by deception, a bank credit of slightly more than NZD 1 million.
The man appeared in Auckland District Court and was granted interim name suppression by Community Magistrate Dianne Hale.
The arrest forms part of Operation Brookings, led by the New Zealand Financial Crime Group. Investigators targeted professional facilitators who enable organised crime. In total, police seized seven high‑end vehicles and three properties with a combined minimum value of NZD 4.9 million during the operation.
Six people in total—four men and two women, aged between 29 and 65—have been charged, all facing money laundering allegations.
In a separate, high‑value action in June, New Zealand police seized assets valued at NZD 136.5 million that were linked to a Russian national suspected of laundering billions in digital currency. Authorities say those assets were held in a New Zealand company owned by Alexander Vinnik, who has been accused of running a bitcoin laundering network and is wanted by both France and the United States.
U.S. prosecutors have alleged Vinnik used BTC‑e, a digital currency exchange, to facilitate crimes including computer hacking and drug trafficking since 2011. Vinnik has denied operating the exchange, saying he served as a technical consultant.
The June enforcement represented the largest restraint of funds in New Zealand Police history.