Bridgecorp’s Roest granted parole
Parole granted with special condition: Roest must not communicate with media.
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Former Bridgecorp director and discharged bankrupt Rob Roest has been granted parole following a hearing today.
The Parole Board says he will be released in the month of April but has withheld the exact date.
Roest was convicted of making false statements in prospectuses issued by Bridgecorp and sentenced to prison for more than six years in May 2012.
When Bridgecorp collapsed in 2007 it owed $459 million to over 14,000 investors.
Roest received an extra three months after pleading guilty to charges relating to the purchase of a luxury yacht with company funds.
This meant his full sentence was to end in January 2019. However, he has made attempts to get parole since August last year.
Last time he came before the board he was denied because there was no properly supported release plan.
A Parole Board panel convened by Judge Arthur Tompkins was presented with an approved address and a proposal that Roest should not be allowed to talk to media.
The condition was added due to the high media profile of Roest’s offending and the large number of investors who suffered significant losses.
The board noted Roest had good family and community support and had a confirmed offer of employment.
The location of his new job has not been disclosed but it is not in the financial services industry.
Other conditions of Roest’s parole include staying at the approved address, not communicating with victims without consent and taking his prescribed medicine for depression and high blood pressure.
In February, Justice Raynor Asher ruled Roest had to pay back $174,000 in legal aid after the Legal Service Commissioner appealed a decision in favour of Roest.
Read the full Parole Board decision here.
Victoria Young
Wed, 08 Apr 2015
Wed, 08 Apr 2015
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Bridgecorp’s Roest granted parole
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