Auckland lawyer Andrew Jarvis has been ordered to pay $275,000 in penalties for breaches of the Overseas Investment Act 2005.

The High Court penalty judgment follows an investigation by Toitū Te Whenua Land Information New Zealand (LINZ) into two overseas individuals who purchased forestry blocks in Gisborne and Rodney without overseas investment consent in 2011 and 2014.

The overseas individuals set up company structures and used local associates to hide their ownership of the forestry blocks and have separately been ordered to pay almost $1.7 million in penalties.

During the investigation, LINZ uncovered evidence that Mr Jarvis, acting for the investors, structured the transactions and gave legal advice that resulted in the investors acquiring interests in sensitive land without consent. Mr Jarvis admitted that his actions were reckless.

LINZ Acting Compliance Leader Pedro Morgan said:

“Lawyers and advisors play a crucial role in supporting our overseas investment regime by providing investors with the right information and advice.

“Good legal advice helps the regime work effectively and supports New Zealanders and overseas investors to have confidence in it.

“The vast majority of advisors 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 advisor.”

The High Court said that Mr Jarvis ‘devised and implemented the structures that were used by their companies to avoid those requirements’ and that ‘his conduct was reckless because he facilitated the transactions without having carefully reviewed the restrictions imposed by the Act.’

“The penalties awarded in this case reflect the seriousness of the breaches and should send a warning to anyone seeking to undermine the rules, and also reinforce the need for investors to seek advice from lawyers who are familiar with the overseas investment rules,” said Pedro Morgan.

The LINZ website has important information for investors about seeking expert advice:

Information about seeking expert advice

Note

• LINZ began an investigation into the forestry transactions following a report in 2020 by one of the investors. The investigation looked into eight forestry block sales in Gisborne and one in Rodney. In 2021 the investigation was widened to include Andrew Jarvis. Proceedings were filed in the High Court in respect of the overseas investors in April 2023 and in respect of Mr Jarvis in September 2024.
• On 19 February the High Court imposed penalties totalling $275,000 against Mr Jarvis and ordered him to pay costs of $10,000 to the Chief Executive of LINZ.
• Three other overseas persons (AJN Land Limited, HMSL Limited, and W Mitchell) were the subject of a High Court judgment in October 2024 and ordered to pay a total of $1,685,000 in civil pecuniary penalties and $35,000 in costs.
• For more information on both cases see: Enforcement action taken | Overseas investment Guidance.

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