Search and Surveillance Act 2012

General provisions in relation to search, surveillance, and inspection powers - Carrying out search powers - Seizure of cash found in suspicious circumstances

123C: Application to retain cash seized for further period

You could also call this:

"Asking to keep seized cash for a longer time to investigate its origin"

Illustration for Search and Surveillance Act 2012

If you are a police officer, you can ask a District Court Judge to let you keep some cash you seized for a bit longer. You need to do this so you can keep investigating where the cash came from or what it was going to be used for. The Judge can say yes if they think the police have good reasons to keep suspecting the cash is not legitimate. You can keep holding the cash while the Judge decides what to do with your request. The Judge can let you keep the cash for up to 28 more days if they agree with you. If the Judge does not agree, they can tell you to give the cash back to the person it was taken from, or to the owner if that is someone different. The police must be trying to figure out where the cash came from or what it was for, or be getting ready to take action under the Criminal Proceeds (Recovery) Act 2009. You can ask the Judge to let you keep the cash for a bit longer, but only once and for up to 28 more days. The Judge can say yes to this request if they still think the police have good reasons. However, you cannot keep the cash for more than 63 days in total.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=LMS833438.

This page was last updated on 24 December 2025 — View changes

Topics:

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123B: Seizure of cash of or over cash seizure threshold amount, or

"Police can take your cash if they think it's a large amount and you can't explain where it came from"

123D: Return or release of cash seized, or

"When Police take your cash, they must give it back if they don't need it for a court case."

Part 4General provisions in relation to search, surveillance, and inspection powers
Carrying out search powers: Seizure of cash found in suspicious circumstances

123CApplication to retain cash seized for further period

A constable may apply to a District Court Judge for an order authorising the Police to hold any cash seized for a further period to enable investigations to continue to establish the origin of the cash or its intended use.
The Police may continue to hold the cash seized pending the determination or withdrawal of the application.
A District Court Judge may—
grant the application if satisfied of the matters in subsection (4) and make an order authorising the Police to continue to hold the cash seized for a further period not exceeding 28 days from the date of the order; or
decline the application and make directions for—
1. the return of the cash to the person from whom the cash was seized; or
2. the release of the cash to the owner of the cash (if the owner is not the person from whom the cash was seized).

The matters referred to in subsection (3)(a) are that the Police—
continue to have reasonable grounds to suspect that the cash is not of lawful or legitimate origin or derivation, or is to be used for, or to further, any unlawful or dishonest purpose; and
are—
1. continuing investigations to establish the origin of the cash seized or its intended use; or
2. taking steps to commence proceedings under the Criminal Proceeds (Recovery) Act 2009 for a restraining order or forfeiture order in respect of the cash seized.

Before the expiry of the period specified in an order made under subsection (3)(a) (the further period), a constable may make an application to the District Court to extend the further period for another period not exceeding 28 days commencing from the expiry of the further period to enable continuing investigations to establish the origin or intended use of the cash seized.
Only 1 application may be made under subsection (5).
A District Court Judge may grant an application made under subsection (5) if in respect of that application the Judge is satisfied of the matters in subsection (4).
However, in no case may an order be made under subsection (3)(a), or be extended under subsection (7), if the effect of making or extending the order would be to authorise the Police to hold the cash seized for a period exceeding 63 days from the date on which it was seized.

Notes

Section 123C: inserted, on 5 April 2023, by section 33 of the Criminal Activity Intervention Legislation Act 2023 (2023 No 7).