Justice Minister Judith Collins says a new law to combat money laundering will make the crime easier to detect and deter drug dealing, tax evasion and fraud.
The Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism Act 2009 takes effect from Sunday.
Ms Collins says the change is part of a coordinated international effort to tackle the problem of money laundering.
The Justice Ministry expects the number of prosecutions to rise due to increased monitoring of suspicious or unusual financial transactions.
The Department of Internal Affairs says it's important for New Zealand to get up to speed and comply with international standards. The manager of the financial integrity unit, Kate Reid, says by having more robust monitoring New Zealand is seen as not subject to criminal influences.
The Reserve Bank, the Financial Markets Authority and the Department of Internal Affairs will be responsible for supervising and enforcing the law.