Man ordered to give up $600,000 he profited from illegal gambling, money laundering

By RNZ

A Lower Hutt man convicted of illegal gambling and money laundering has been forced to give up the more than $600,000 he profited from it.

In April, Thomas Mackay Taniwha was fined $16,500 following a two-year police and Department of Internal Affairs investigation - dubbed Operation Ace - which found he was running “high turnover” poker games both in person and on online gambling platforms.

But Justice Peter Churchman has now also ordered him to forfeit $619,692 - which police say is how much he made from the illegal activity - under the Criminal Proceeds (Recovery) Act.

“A search warrant executed by staff from the DIA and Police in February 2022 located $25,700 cash and a room outfitted for the purposes of hosting poker games,” Detective Sergeant Sam Buckley said.

The investigation looked into Taniwha’s bank accounts and found “a large number of deposits” which were linked to illegal gambling activity.

“Some of these funds were subsequently transferred into the business bank account of a car dealership,” he said.

The purpose of the Criminal Proceeds (Recovery) Act is to confiscate property from people who have profited from criminal activity, reduce the rewards from crime, and reduce the attraction of crime to potential offenders, police said.

“This should serve as a reminder that police will continue to target those who profit from any manner of criminal offences, including those investigated and prosecuted by other enforcement agencies such as the DIA.”