An Auckland lawyer has been fined $275,000 for helping oversea businessmen avoid rules around foreign ownership.
Andrew Jarvis was ordered to pay the penalty for his role in facilitating the sale of 271 hectares of sensitive forestry land in Gisborne and Auckland in 2011 and 2014.
An investigation by Toitū Te Whenua Land Information New Zealand found that two overseas investors set up company structures and used local associates to hide their ownership.
Land Information NZ discovered Jarvis helped to structure these deals and gave advice that enabled the purchases. A statement from Land Information NZ said Jarvis admitted that his actions were “reckless”.
Acting compliance leader Pedro Morgan said lawyers and advisers played a “crucial role” in supporting New Zealand’s overseas investment regime by providing investors with the right information and advice.
“The vast majority of advisers help their clients to understand the law and make the right decisions, which is why it is so disappointing that, in this case, overseas investors have been enabled to break the rules by a legal adviser.”
The High Court said Jarvis “devised and implemented” structures to help the companies avoid the law and acted recklessly by not reviewing the restrictions imposed by the Overseas Investment Act.
Morgan said the $275,000 penalty highlighted the seriousness of the breaches and should serve as a warning to anyone else “seeking to undermine the rules”.
