Detective Sergeant Sam Buckley, Central Asset Recovery
Unit Wellington:

The Wellington High Court has ordered
the forfeiture of over $600,000 from a Lower Hutt man
convicted of illegal gambling and money
laundering.

The forfeiture order issued by Justice
Peter Churchman on 29 July 2024 is the culmination of a
two-year Police Asset Recovery Unit investigation, Operation
Ace, into the activities of Thomas Mackay Taniwha.

In
April of this year, Mr Taniwha was fined $16,500 in the
Wellington District Court, following an investigation by Te
Tari Taiwhenua, Department of Internal Affairs
(DIA).

The charges related to high turnover poker
games conducted by Mr Taniwha using both ‘in person’ and
online gambling platforms. 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.

Police and the DIA worked closely
together to examine and analyse Mr Taniwha’s bank
accounts. A large number of deposits were identified which
were conclusively linked to illegal gambling activity. Some
of these funds were subsequently transferred into the
business bank account of a car
dealership.

The Criminal Proceeds
(Recovery) Act investigation resulted in a profit forfeiture
order being made in relation to $619,692, the amount Police
calculated as the unlawful benefit Mr Taniwha received from
his offending.

The purpose of the
Criminal Proceeds (Recovery) Act is to confiscate property
from persons who have engaged in, or who have profited from,
significant criminal activity. To reduce the rewards from
crime for individuals, and to reduce the attraction of crime
to potential offenders

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.

Police will continue to work with
enforcement agencies across New Zealand to target offenders
who seek to profit from their criminal
offending.

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