The day the money ran out - Petricevic's version

The day Bridgecorp money ran out - April 2, 2007 - the phones rang with concerned investors demanding payment.

Auckland High Court earlier heard evidence from Bridgecorp's investor services manager Christine Todd, whose job it was to ensure all investor payments were made on time, of her "shock, horror" reaction when she discovered investors were not being paid.

She became concerned when phones "rang and rang" with investor complaints and how managing director Rod Petricevic got other people from other departments to man the phones when her team refused to answer them.

Miss Todd said investors were told it was a computer glitch and they would be paid that night.

But the company had no money to pay, she said.

Today, under examination from his lawyer Charles Cato, Mr Petricevic gave his version of those events.

He recalled he was going about his normal business when he heard a commotion around 9am in the office and went to investigate.

"There was comment made one of the girls in investor services was not prepared to answer phones and we had an issue where interst to be paid out on that Friday (March 30) was not paid."

Mr Petricevic said he was annoyed the company had departed from its practice of paying out its debeture stock on the last working day of the month.

Bridgecorp's prospectus and investment statements asserted Bridgecorp had never missed interest and principal payments when they fell due.

Because settlement hadn't come in on March 30, interest payments were going to be made on the Monday - the next working day, Mr Petricevic said today.

"My state of mind was that it wasn't a missed interest payment. It was paid on the next working day, which was normal commercial practice."

Mr Petricevic said arrangements were made for executive staff to help the investor services team deal with the issues that day and later,  he paid a visit to the investor services team "and all appeared in order, no issues", he said.

He denied using the word 'computer glitch' and the suggestion he had raised that explanation of a computer glitch at a meeting that day (March 30) was "complete fiction".

"There was no meeting on March 30 with relation to that matter," he told the court.

Earlier, Mr Petricevic told the court he didn't know about the company's missed payments - outlined earlier in the trial by Crown witness and former Bridgecorp internal auditor Kulasinam Indra Kumar - until he read about them in the newspaper.

Mr Petricevic said he didn't work personally with Mr Kumar, who he described as "very conscientious".

"He would some times take a particular view of a loan or a situation and was like a dog with a bone, and would continue on with it."

At one point during questioning Mr Petricevic received reassurance from his lawyer.

"Just relax Mr Petricevic," said Mr Cato, who later told Mr Petricevic during a break in proceedings - "it's not easy for anyone".

Mr Petricevic's son watched his father in the witness box, from the back of the court during this morning's proceedings when, in the opening minutes of his defence, he made an apology  the 14,000 investors who lost $459 million - an average of about $33,000 each - when Bridgecorp collapsed in June 2007.   

"I'd like to take this opportunity to extend an apology to all investors for the grief and losses they had been conflicted with," he said. "I believe we did everything, particularly in my instance, to repay investors and run the company."

He told the court he has no previous convictions for fraud.

The trial, before Justice Geoff Venning alone, is continuing.