The deputy registrar of companies Peter Barker has prohibited Rodney Michael Petricevic and Cornelius Robert Roest, directors of the Bridgecorp Group of companies, from directing or managing a company in New Zealand.
Under section 385 of the Companies Act, where a person has been a director of more than one failed company within five years, that person must satisfy the registrar their management of the affairs of the companies was not, at least partly, responsible for the demise of the companies.
Mr Petricevic and Mr Roest were unable to satisfy Mr Barker that the way in which they managed the affairs of the Bridgecorp Group was not at least partly responsible for the failure of those companies.
The Ministry of Economic Development's national enforcement unit provided reports to Mr Barker which alleged mismanagement including: misleading information contained in the prospectus; defaults of the payment of principal and interest; misleading information provided to the trustee; and, in the case of Mr Petricevic, transactions involving personal interest.
Mr Barker found the failings of Mr Petricevic and Mr Roest to be "serious and fundamental" with such a depth that any one of the matters alone would have been enough to prohibit them from acting as company managers or directors.
He determined that this matter was separate and distinct from the criminal charges that Mr Petricevic and Mr Roest are also facing.
