The boss of Mainzeal's parent company says he never paid particular attention to the legal impact of transactions that ultimately led to the construction giant's demise.
Richina chief executive Richard Yan gave evidence today at Auckland High Court. Photo: justice.govt.nz
Richina chief executive Richard Yan is jointly accused with Mainzeal's directors of continuing to trade while the company was insolvent, allegedly leading to its collapse.
Mr Yan told the Auckland High Court he viewed Richina's group of companies as a cohesive group, and never anticipated difficulties giving money to Mainzeal.
"Because the group stood behind all subsidiaries, we didn't pay too much attention to which legal entity owed which other legal entity," he said.
"In retrospect, not recording the payments made to Mainzeal was a mistake, but allowing any Richina company to go into receivership or liquidation was not a concept that ever entered my mind.
"Therefore I never paid particular attention to the legal impact of these intercompany transactions, leaving the accounting to our finance staff and auditors."
Mr Yan said the suggestion that Mainzeal's directors should have ceased trading years before the company went into liquidation in 2013 was "ridiculous".
He pinned Mainzeal's collapse on an expensive dispute with manufacturing company Siemens and the sudden loss of large amounts of money, which happened too fast for Richina to intervene.
The company went into liquidation in 2013 owing creditors some $117 million.