found guilty

Western Samoa

Attorney general found guilty

Western Samoa’s attorney general has been struck off New Zealand’s law register. Senerivi Muli'aumaseali’i has been struck off for mishandling trust accounts at his Auckland practice, which he ran from 1982 to 1991.

He was found guilty on four charges of professional misconduct over trust accounts totalling more than US$6l,OOO.

After he left New Zealand for Western Samoa in 1991 to take over the post of attorney general, the Auckland District Law Society began investigating complaints about his handling of accounts.

The chairman of the tribunal, Lester Chisholm, delivering the ruling, said Muli’aumaseali’i was “not a fit and proper” person to practice law in New Zealand. He was fund guilty of making unauthorised payments totalling LISS6I,OOO from 13 clients’ money. Most of his clients were Western Samoan. He was also found guilty of allowing his trust account to be US$l4,OOO overdrawn and of failing to complete monthly audit returns of his business.

Muli’aumaseali’i has declined to say whether he intends resigning from his government-appointed post. He said his future was “completely within the government’s prerogative”.

Law Society counsel Stuart Ennor said the Western Samoa Law Society would be unable to charge Muli’amaseali'i over his Auckland activities which were outside its jurisdiction. But the striking off might allow the Samoan body to charge him with conduct unbecoming a legal practitioner. Ennor said if Muli’ aumaseali’i were struck the Western Samoa register, he could not hold the office of attorney-general.

In Wellington, the Western Samoa high commissioner said it was to prepare a report for its government.