I lied for friendship, says Tua's ex-manager

Martin Pugh leaving the High Court on Thursday. Picture / Kenny Rodger

David Tua's former manager, Martin Pugh, has told a court he lied and committed forgery for the sake of his friendship with the heavyweight boxer.

Under cross-examination in the High Court at Auckland yesterday, Mr Pugh said he had forged and "cut and pasted" signatures while working as Tua's manager, but it was not for financial gain.

He said he also fabricated the contents of a letter to the International Boxing Confederation to get Tua out of a pension plan that would have taken 7 per cent of his earnings.

"This was the only way that you could get out of the IBF stealing 7 per cent and I'm sure - 100 per cent positive - that David Tua wanted me to protect that 7 per cent. And, like I said before, friendship will make me do anything."

Mr Pugh's evidence came in the final day of a week-long civil case into who owns a $7.5 million property at Pakiri. Tua claims he bought the property but put it through his company, Tuaman Inc, on Mr Pugh's advice that it would be better for tax reasons.

Mr Pugh and Tua's other former manager, Kevin Barry, claim the land was never bought for Tua alone. It was instead a company investment and because they each had 25 per cent shares in Tuaman, they also owned the land.

Mr Pugh said he had been interested in buying land at Pakiri for many years and he had even put a $1.1m offer on a different block.

He denied a suggestion from Tua's lawyer, Tony Molloy, QC, that the unsuccessful offer was made with $1 million transferred out of Tuaman's accounts and into his own. Mr Pugh also said there was no wrongdoing in transferring $925,000 out of Tuaman's account and into a Vanuatu account before transferring it into his partner Sally Cross' account.

On Thursday, Mr Pugh told the court that despite being the director of Tuaman Inc he had little understanding of the Companies Act, including sections relating to accounting, record-keeping and auditing, and that only one tax return was filed in four years.

The court also heard that according to accountants - appointed by the court with the parties' agreement - Mr Barry and Mr Pugh did not have money in Tuaman Inc to buy the Pakiri property. They instead had a combined debt to Tuaman of more than $1 million while the company owed Tua - who had little control over his accounts - more than $2 million. Mr Pugh, represented by Justin Toebes, said he did not accept the court-appointed figures.

In his closing address, Mr Toebes said the case of who owned Pakiri came down to whether there was an expressed trust that the land was bought for Tua alone.

"If a trust was to be formed or declared ... it was to be formed at the first site meeting ... where Mr Tua says 'Man, I want it' and accordingly assumed that it was being purchased for him. The evidence is that none of Mr Tua, Mr Pugh or Mr Barry, or indeed any person at any relevant time, said to any of the others ... that Pakiri was being purchased for Mr Tua alone."

Dr Molloy closed his case saying there were only two people at that first site meeting who know what really happened - Mr Pugh and Tua.

"Mr Pugh is an opportunist, lying forger who thrived on this atmosphere that he created of keeping people in the dark ... and since his is the only evidence of what took place on the sixth of April at Pakiri, his evidence should be scorned as of no value."

Justice Hugh Williams is expected to release a decision this month.

In his own words...

What Martin Pugh had to say during cross-examination by David Tua's lawyer, Dr Tony Molloy, QC:

* About forging signatures:

Molloy: How has the signature been fixed on the back page?

Pugh: The signature has been fixed by pasting. I have already admitted to that in my evidence.

Molloy: Is it common practice for [you] to do this now?

Pugh: No, because I realise these people will use it against me at a later stage ... In closing I'd also like to say that the Right Honourable Helen Clark signed her name to a painting that she never painted.

Justice Hugh Williams: We don't need that.

Molloy: So I take it the answer to my questions is did you forge Mr [Maselino] Masoe's signature?

Pugh: I did put his signature to that agreement.

* About forging accountant Jennie Grant's signature:

Molloy: So this is another example of what you've just said that you don't do any more in case people use it against you.

Pugh: I think that is prudent, yes. But I couldn't say if under the certain circumstances if somebody gave me permission to do that, that I would not do that. But I think I would take more care in valuing the integrity of that person and how that person may or may not use it against me in the future.

* About a letter Mr Pugh wrote to the International Boxing Confederation:

Molloy: David's future, the letter said it was very secure and successfully planned to investors. That's a lie, isn't it?

Pugh: That is a lie put forward by me to protect David Tua losing 7 per cent of this purse to the corrupt IBF and his associations with Don King.

Molloy: Who were the investment brokers who handled his retirement plan?

Pugh: No such investment brokers existed. I just made it up.

* Talking about funds that went into Mr Pugh's accounts:

Molloy: And then you took $1 million out of the Lewis fight funds in January 01 that went into your account.

Pugh: That's incorrect. I didn't take it, I transferred it.