Centro Directors Plead to be Pardoned

The Centro directors and executives who were found guilty of breaching their director’s duties by issuing erroneous accounts in 2007 have asked the Federal Court to exonerate them and spare them from any form of penalty.

Lawyers representing the former CEO of Centro, Andrew Scott, told the courts in Melbourne that the case has generated so much publicity that the shame suffered by the directors was punishment enough. They argued that while the case drew the boundaries of negligence, the breach by the directors in this case amounted to no more than reasonable negligence. It was argued that the directors were desperately unlucky to find themselves in such a situation through no fault of their own.

The regulators are arguing that the directors should be fined $100,000 and barred from serving as managers or directors for up to three years. However, the lawyers for Mr. Scott insisted that such a punishment would serve no purpose as he had simply relied on his deputies to get the accounts right.

Justice Middleton has reserved his decision.

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