Bridgecorp payouts were only 'delayed'

Left to right: Rod Petricevic, Robert Roest, Gary Urwin and Peter Steigrad in the dock at the Auckland High Court. Photo / Brett Phibbs

Former Bridgecorp director Rob Roest is toeing the same line as co-accused Rod Petricevic, saying late payments the failed finance firm made to its investors were delayed, not missed.

Roest and Petricevic - along with fellow director Peter Steigrad - are accused of misleading investors in Bridgecorp's offer documents and are on trial in the High Court at Auckland.

Giving evidence in his own defence yesterday, Roest said he believed the company never missed payments because the money often went to investors the following day.

"I never believed we missed a payment. We may have been delayed slightly, but we never missed it."

As well as charges under the Securities Act, Petricevic and Roest face eight counts of knowingly making false statements in offer documents that Bridgecorp had never missed interest payments or repayments of principal to investors.

According to evidence tabled earlier in the case, Bridgecorp began missing payments from the February 7, 2007. It collapsed in July 2007, owing 14,500 investors $459 million.

Roest is due to finish giving his evidence tomorrow and will then be cross-examined by the Crown.

Steigrad will appear in his own defence. All three deny the charges against them.