Auckland lawyer and client fined $130k for unlawfully buying Helensville property

Wednesday, 16 March 2022

An Auckland lawyer and his client have been fined $130,000 for trying to obstruct an investigation by the Overseas Investment Office (OIO).

The investigation was into the 2016 purchase of a $3 million, 19 hectare property in Helensville, 40 kilometres west of Auckland.

Dr Won Joo Hur, a Korean citizen, bought the property without the required consent from the Overseas Investment Office, using a company to try to avoid the law.

He was fined $100,000, while his lawyer, Dr Jaeho Choi, was ordered to pay $30,000 by the High Court in Auckland.

The pair were fined $130,000 for trying to obstruct an investigation by the OIO.

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The penalties come on top of fines issued in 2020 – $60,000 for the lawyer and $100,000 for Hur.

Simon Pope from Toitū Te Whenua Land Information New Zealand (LINZ) said the OIO welcomed the court’s decision, which was published on Wednesday.

“The defendants tried to make the purchase in the name of a New Zealand-owned company, despite legal advice that they couldn’t do that,” he said.

“This kind of thing doesn’t wash. You can’t use an associated company to make a purchase on your behalf.”

Before entering into the sale, Hur was advised to cancel the sale agreement because it wasn’t legal, but disregarded that advice.

Choi recommended the use of HK Search Limited to hold the property for Hur until he found another buyer, or got consent.

The purchase was completed in 2016, with HK Search as the titleholder.

“When the OIO began to investigate the transaction in early 2017, Drs Hur and Choi initially obstructed the investigation by telling the OIO that the transfer to HK Search took place in an arm’s-length transaction, and by creating a backdated loan document to support this version of events,” the High Court finding said.

For this, the pair were charged with obstruction and fined in 2020.

The penalties issued in Wednesday’s decision relate to the civil charges on the same matter. It was agreed the lawyer will be able to pay the fine at a rate of $500 per month.