An almost year-long Serious Fraud Office investigation into disbarred and bankrupt Dunedin lawyer John Milne is frustrating some of his former 35 clients, who in total lost almost $3 million given to him.
The SFO said yesterday its investigation had been completed, but gave no indication when it would announce its findings.
In late April, Milne (77) was found guilty of professional misconduct in handling almost $3 million of clients' funds and was struck off the Register of Lawyers by the New Zealand Lawyers and Conveyancers Disciplinary Tribunal. Milne had earlier handed in his practising certificate and placed himself in bankruptcy.
In July last year, following a complaint by the standards committee of the Otago branch of the New Zealand Law Society, the SFO confirmed it had launched its separate investigation into Milne, but had released no updates since then.
The SFO said when opening the investigation there were ''reasonable grounds'' to believe an offence of serious or complex fraud ''may have been committed'' by Milne. Depending on the SFO's findings, charges of dishonesty could be laid.
The SFO in recent weeks has interviewed former Dunedin clients of Milne.
Hinging on the outcome of the SFO investigation is whether some of Milne's former clients can make claims against the Law Society's compensation funds. Such claims must be made within a year.
One client, who did not want to identified, said, ''Time is running out. We can't do anything until we know where the SFO is going,'' referring to possible charges and the length of time it could take to come before the courts.
When contacted yesterday, the SFO said the investigation into Milne was ''complete''.
''The outcome of that will be publicly announced in due course,'' the spokeswoman said.
Compensation claims will hinge on whether money was loaned personally to Milne by clients, or provided for investment and, in a further twist of complexity, the Law Society compensation funds cover different timeframes and legislation.
Money given to Milne, mainly by Southern investors, ranged from $10,000 to almost $1 million.
