Gary
Hughes
Gary Hughes is a leading independent lawyer in New Zealand, specialising in all types of regulatory investigations and cases, both advocacy and compliance advice.
His expertise has been developed over more than two decades working to resolve client issues with business crime regulators – e.g. NZ’s three AML/CFT Supervisors, Serious Fraud Office, Police FIU, Commerce Commission, and other government agencies. Along with 4 years working in London, his experience includes matters with AUSTRAC in Australia, the US DOJ, the Cook Islands, and B.C. Canada.
Gary is widely regarded as NZ’s most experienced Anti-Money Laundering lawyer, and authored a textbook for the legal profession facing new AML/CFT law obligations in 2018 (Thomson Reuters Westlaw). He helped establish ACAMS in New Zealand in 2008, served as a director of the ACAMS Australasian Chapter for many years, and is now Technical Advisory Director to the Chapter board. In 2021 he was also appointed as Chair of the International Bar Association’s AML & Sanctions Experts Committee.
Gary is based at Britomart Chambers in Auckland, and takes briefs from around the Oceania region. As well as financial crime, he handles antitrust (competition & consumer), insurance, privacy, technology, and trade cases.