https://www.stuff.co.nz/nz-news/360969770/law-firm-fined-60000-criminal-breaches-anti-money-laundering-laws

A Hamilton law firm wilfully obstructed investigators and ignored money laundering laws for three years.

Foster & Milroy has been fined $60,000 in the Hamilton District Court after pleading guilty to criminal breaches of the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) Act. The firm failed to conduct compliant risk assessments, did not maintain a proper anti-money laundering programme, and failed to keep required records.

The offending, which took place between March 2022 and March 2025, was described by the Department of Internal Affairs (DIA) as "prolonged, intentional and systemic".

Internal Affairs director of AML/CFT Serge Sablyak said the firm also wilfully obstructed investigators by refusing to respond to formal notices or only providing partial responses.

"As a law firm, Foster & Milroy’s partnership also had professional obligations to uphold the law, which they failed to do," Sablyak said.

The court considered the firm’s size and financial capacity, alongside the nature of the breaches, when determining the $60,000 penalty.

Sablyak said businesses served as the "first line of defence" against money laundering and that the department would take decisive action, including criminal prosecution, when faced with deliberate attempts to obstruct or mislead.

Criminals often targeted businesses with weak systems to hide the proceeds of their offending, Sablyak said.

"Law firms are particularly vulnerable because they are trusted, and criminals leverage that trust by using their broad range of services to conceal the proceeds of their offending."