Rod Petricevic. Photo / Mark Mitchell
Whether the creditors of Rod Petricevic ever see a cent of the $4.7 million he owes them is now up to the Official Assignee.
The former Bridgecorp chief executive was yesterday made bankrupt by Justice Jeremy Doogue in the High Court at Auckland.
The decision ended two months
of legal actions as the founder of the failed finance company tried to stave off bankruptcy proceedings.
The petitioning creditor was Bridgecorp's receivers, to whom he owes $666,186 for a personal tax bill the company paid for him in September 2006.
In a surprise twist, it emerged Mr Petricevic also owes troubled Hanover Finance $4 million in relation to a loan Hanover made to Bridgecorp, which he personally guaranteed.
These are not the only debts Mr Petricevic could face.
Bridgecorp's receivers are also pursuing him for $2.7 million in what they say are excessive earnings paid between July 2004 and Bridgecorp's collapse on July 2 last year.
The office of the Official Assignee, which is part of the government's Insolvency and Trustee Service, now has control of Mr Petricevic's affairs.
Bridgecorp receiver Colin McCloy said he had no idea where the former chief executive's substantial earnings over the past few years had gone.
"So now we'll be looking to work with the Official Assignee to fully investigate his personal financial affairs with a view to obtaining recoveries for Bridgecorp investors."
Mr Petricevic was paid $4 million between July 2004 and June 2007, and had taken $1.6 million in advances from his family trust since March 2000.
He has told the court that he owes the trust $5 million, and is insolvent.
He says his family home on Remuera Rd is owned by the trust, and all its contents belong to his wife.
The Official Assignee has the power to review gifts to the trust going back two years before the bankruptcy.
The signature item for this process will be Mr Petricevic's $120,000 Porsche 911, which he gave to the trust three days after Bridgecorp collapsed.
It is now in the possession of the High Court.
