Petricevic was quite relaxed signing prospectus
Former Bridgecorp MD tells High Court he would often not question documents if they had been signed by chairman Bruce Davidson.
Rod Petricevic says he was quite relaxed giving his signature to Bridgecorp’s 2006/2007 prospectus, now under scrutiny in Auckland High Court.
Bridgecorp’s typical practice in signing documents was that chairman Bruce Davidson would sign first.
“He would often ask any questions he felt necessary,” said Mr Petricevic.
“I myself was comforted by that and I would ask questions as well.”
But there was nothing in the figures that gave him reason to ask questions.
Financial statements in the prospectus had been through a sign-off process that lasted three-four months before Mr Petricevic gave them his signature in December 2006, he told the court today.
“To my mind they were up to date in December.
“January and February were very quiet months and I wasn’t alerted to anything [likely to change the financial situation] that was out of the ordinary,” he said.
“So I was quite relaxed there was no material difference between that period and the signing of this [prospectus].”
Mr Petricevic and fellow directors Rob Roest and Peter Steigrad have denied Financial Markets Authority charges they mislead investors in the company’s 2006/2007 prospectus and associated financial statements.
The charges carry a maximum penalty of up to five years in jail or a fine of up to $300,000.
Mr Petricevic continues to give evidence in his defence today.
Yesterday he spent the first minutes under examination by his lawyer, Charles Cato, apologising to the 14,000 investors who lost $459 million when Bridgecorp collapsed in June 2007.
Georgina Bond
Tue, 21 Feb 2012
Tue, 21 Feb 2012
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Petricevic was quite relaxed signing prospectus
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