Bridgecorp defence detailed in cross-examination

Former Bridgecorp directors Rod Petricevic (R) and Robert Roest. Photo / Dean Purcell.

The defence lawyers of three former Bridgecorp directors dug deep into detail in the High Court at Auckland yesterday, laboriously cross-examining Crown witnesses over documents, statements and reports.

Directors Rod Petricevic, Rob Roest and Peter Steigrad are accused of misleading investors and each face 10 Securities Act charges of making untrue statements in the offer documents of Bridgecorp and Bridgecorp Investments.

Petricevic and Roest also face eight charges under the Crimes Act and Companies Act of knowingly making false statements in offering documents that Bridgecorp had never missed interest payments to investors, nor repayments of principal.

The Financial Markets Authority alleged the company began defaulting on payments in February 2007, five months before it collapsed owing 14,500 investors $459 million.

The trio deny the charges and their lawyers continued cross-examining witnesses yesterday.

Former Bridgecorp treasurer John Welch was on the stand for most of the day before the firm's internal audit and risk manager, Indra Kumar, returned for questioning in the afternoon.

Welch, who reported directly to Roest, told the court he was positive about investors being payed back until just days before the company was placed into receivership on July 2, 2007.

He said if two big loans owed to Bridgecorp had been paid, the firm's financial woes would have been resolved.

The funds due were $40 million from a resort in Fiji and $14 million from the Kinloch golf development near Taupo. Welch said it was only certain the Kinloch payment would not come through on June 29.