Failed retirement village Prime Trust directors, Bill Lewski, Peter Clarke and Michael Wooldridge, want their convictions overturned.
Their argument? They claim the decision to pay Lewski (pictured) $33 million was made at a board meeting on 19 July, 2006. This was six years and one month before ASIC launched its case on 21 August 2012 – meaning beyond the six year statute of limitations.
In last year’s court case ASIC pointed out that at the August 2006 board meeting the Lodgement Resolution was approved by the board, starting the clock. The directors say the actual decision was made the month before.
Justice Middleton this week pointed out that the decision could have been changed when the Lodgement Resolution was placed at the August board meeting and therefore it was still alive.
He is quoted as saying: “Everything was wrong with the July resolution, on His Honour’s findings. You had to do something to stop it. Blind Freddy could have seen its wrong”.
Prime Trust collapsed in 2010 with $560 million lost for 8,000 mum and dad investors.
In addition to the $33 million fee, which was a success fee for the stock exchnage listing of Prime Trust, Lewski was also given for free the management rights for the trust’s villages which he sold to Babcock & Brown for $60 million.
