Purchaser fined $100,000 after giving false information to Overseas Investment Office

Monday, 10 February 2020

Won Joo Hur pleaded guilty to one charge of obstructing an investigation.

An overseas investor pleaded guilty and has been convicted and fined $100,000 in the Auckland District Court for misleading the Overseas Investment Office (OI) during an investigation into a property transaction.

This is the first time a person has been convicted of an offence under the Overseas Investment Act 2005.

On Friday, Won Joo Hur pleaded guilty in the Auckland District Court to one charge of obstructing an investigation.

Vanessa Horne, group manager for the Overseas Investment Office, said Hur and his lawyer gave false information to the OIO in May 2017.

'In July 2016, Hur entered an agreement to buy a property in Helensville,' she said. 'The transaction could not be settled as Hur was an overseas person and he did not have consent under the Overseas Investment Act for the purchase. A company associated with Hur's lawyer bought the property to avoid Hur forfeiting a large deposit.

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'The property purchase required consent under the Overseas Investment Act because the company was buying the land on behalf of Hur. The OIO opened an investigation into the property transaction and requested information from Hur and his lawyer.

'During the investigation, Hur and his lawyer told the OIO the property was transferred at arm's length from Hur. This was untrue because Hur paid the purchase price and was the beneficial owner of the property, with the company holding title to it on his behalf.

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'They also created a false loan agreement to support their version of events and provided it to the OIO.'

Horne said providing false information to the office was a criminal offence and undermined the overseas investment regime.

'We take enforcing New Zealand's overseas investment rules very seriously and we will continue to take strong action against anyone who breaks the rules.'

Hur's lawyer, Jaeho Choi, pleaded guilty to the same charge and was due to be sentenced on April 28. Civil proceedings against the company that bought the property are pending before the High Court.