Radio New Zealand - Te Reo Irirangi o Aotearoa

ANZ defends Vanuatu banking sector

Posted at 18:55 on 17 July, 2012 UTC

ANZ Vanuatu says the reputation of Vanuatu as a haven of dirty money in the South Pacific is unfair.

The newspaper, The Independent, has reported that officials are looking into accounts in Vanuatu while investigating claims that an Irish tycoon Sean Quinn and his family moved money out of a bank they were due to repay.

The CEO of ANZ Vanuatu and ANZ South-east Pacific, Shane Freeman, says there are very strict banking rules in Vanuatu and any reputation the country has is inaccurate.

“It’s unfortunate because it’s not the way banking occurs in Vanuatu and as I say I think it might be a legacy of history long ago but it’s certainly not how banking is conducted in Vanuatu now.”

Shane Freeman says there may have been a time when the financial sector was not as well regulated, but that’s not the case now.