FBI opens first office in New Zealand 'to counter China and cybercrime'

Source: The Guardian

Wed 30 Jul 2025 23.35 EDT
Last modified on Wed 30 Jul 2025 23.36 EDT


The director of the FBI, Kash Patel, has opened the bureau’s first ever office in New Zealand, in what he said was an attempt to help counter China’s activities in the Indo-Pacific, crack down on issues including cybercrime, and strengthen protection of the Five Eyes nations. Patel, who opened the office at the US embassy in Wellington on Thursday, called the event an “historic moment”.

“The announcement that we are opening up our law enforcement attache office here in Wellington shows the world that the FBI is actually prioritising a permanent presence across all Five Eyes countries,” Patel said in a video, supplied by the embassy. “Here in New Zealand we had not had that until this historic moment, so we are truly humbled with the reception we have been given.”

Patel said the US and New Zealand would work together on “some of the most important global issues of our time”. “Countering the CCP in the Indopacom [the US’s Indo-Pacific Command] area, countering the narcotics trade, working against cyber intrusion and ransomware operations and most importantly protecting our respective citizenry,” he said.

The FBI has stationed staff in Wellington since 2017, as a sub-office of the legal attaché office in Australia’s capital Canberra, Australia. The new office will have responsibility for partnerships in New Zealand, Antarctica, Samoa, Niue, Cook Islands, and Tonga.

Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jul/31/fbi-opens-new-zealand-office