Overview

• FBI Director Kash Patel traveled to Wellington on July 31 to inaugurate the new standalone office, replacing the 2017 suboffice under Canberra’s legal attaché.
• The Wellington office will oversee FBI collaborations in New Zealand, Antarctica, Samoa, Niue, the Cook Islands and Tonga.
• Under the Five Eyes framework, the bureau plans joint operations against cyber intrusions, ransomware, narcotics trafficking and organised crime.
• US and New Zealand officials said the expanded presence will enhance efforts to counter Chinese Communist Party influence in the Indo-Pacific.
• Defence Minister Judith Collins and Police Minister Mark Mitchell welcomed the permanent office as a boost to the safety and security of New Zealanders.