No-show delays Petricevic hearing

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BANNED: Bridgecorp managing director Rod Petricevic has been banned from being a manager or director for five years, along with finance director Rob Roest.

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Atempts by the Official Assignee to shed light on the financial affairs of bankrupt Bridgecorp founder Rod Petricevic continue to be thwarted following a second successive High Court no-show by his legal counsel.

Petricevic's lawyer, Bruce Stewart QC, failed to turn up for yesterday's hearing in the High Court at Auckland to discuss three insolvency matters concerning the transfer of wealth from his estate to a family trust.

The former Bridgecorp managing director was declared bankrupt by the courts in August 2008 over a $4.7 million debt he owed to creditors relating to a personal tax bill and loan to Bridgecorp from fellow finance company struggler Hanover Finance, which he personally guaranteed.

As a consequence of his bankruptcy, the office of the Official Assignee, which is part of the government's Insolvency and Trustee Service, assumed control of Petricevic's affairs.

The Official Assignee is investigating Petricevic's personal financial affairs with a view to recovering money for creditors. Its powers permit it to review gifts made to a trust spanning two years before a bankruptcy.

Speaking after court, the Official Assignee for Auckland, David Harte, told BusinessDay that the matters concerned personal transactions of wealth that were currently being challenged.

"Put it this way, we think that perhaps those transactions may not have been validly made under the terms of the Insolvency Act and they should be overturned so we get the money back to the estate," he said.

"[If successful] the money would come back to creditors of him personally.

"The [amounts in question] are substantial enough for us to be concerned; it takes considerable time and expense to go to court."

During past bankruptcy proceedings Petricevic told the courts that he owed the family trust millions of dollars and was insolvent. He said his family home was owned by the family trust.

This year Petricevic's Porsche 911 sold under the hammer for $150,000. The car was at the centre of an expensive legal wrangle after its ownership was transferred to the family trust only days after Bridgecorp was placed into receivership.

- © Fairfax NZ News