Petricevic 'used Bridgecorp' as own bank

Rod Petricevic (inset) allegedly used investors' money for luxuries such as the purchase of a $1.65 million launch. Photos / Kenny Rodger, Richard Robinson

Bridgecorp boss Rod Petricevic authorised payments of $1 million of investors' money to a company run by a woman he was in a personal relationship with, says a Government report that banned him from being a company director.

The Companies Office has banned Petricevic and Rob Roest from running any company in New Zealand for five years.

The two men are facing criminal charges in connection with the collapse of the $460 million Bridgecorp company group.

A report from the national enforcement unit of the Ministry of Economic Development, released to the Weekend Herald under the Official Information Act, reveals Petricevic authorised several payments without board approval, including:

Remuneration of $4.25 million between 2004 and 2007.

A personal tax bill of $576,100.

Invoices totalling $1,083,434 paid to an unregistered firm called "A Bb".

Purchase of a $1.65 million launch called Medici.

The report says Petricevic was in a "personal relationship" with the woman who ran "A Bb", but he did not disclose that to the Bridgecorp board.

Investigators found that "A Bb" did little, if any, work for Bridgecorp.

"Mr Petricevic and [the unnamed woman] were in a personal relationship during part of the period that these invoices for services were received, authorised and paid," the report says. "Mr Petricevic failed in his duty to act in good faith and in the best interest of these companies, to disclose to the board of directors the nature and extent of the commercial relationship between [the woman] and Bridgecorp, in light of the their personal relationship."

The banning report also detailed the steps Petricevic took to buy the $1.65 million launch.

He shipped the 20m boat from Tokyo in Japan to Auckland and renamed it Medici.

Petricevic paid for the boat with Bridgecorp money to act as security for a loan to his company Poseidon Ltd, of which he was the sole director and shareholder.

He then created a sponsorship agreement between Bridgecorp and Poseidon worth $350,000, signing on behalf of both companies.

"Mr Petricevic did not have the approval of the board of directors to use funds of these companies to acquire, use or maintain the vessel Medici," the report says.

"Mr Petricevic appears to have treated Bridgecorp as a personal resource from which he has withdrawn funds for his own personal lifestyle and benefit with little impediment or review."

Deputy Registrar of Companies Peter Barker said Petricevic and Roest's failings were serious and of "such a depth that any one of the matters alone would have been enough to prohibit them from acting as company managers or directors".

Bridgecorp collapsed in July 2007, owing about $460 million to 14,500 investors. An April update from receivers Colin McCloy and Maurice Noone of PricewaterhouseCoopers, said debenture investors were likely to receive less than 10c in the dollar of their investment back.