One of the jailed Bridgecorp directors has been ordered to pay back more than $174,000 of legal aid.
Robert Roest is serving nearly seven years for his part in the financial mismanagement and fraud that left four and-a-half thousand investors $120 million out of pocket.
Roest's legal aid bill came to just over $174,000 by the end of his 2011 trial, and the Legal Services commissioner wanted it back.
The former Bridgecorp director claimed that because he was bankrupt he did not have to pay it back, despite being a beneficiary of a family trust with more than four hundred thousand dollars worth of assets.
In today's decision, Justice Asher said legal aid is there to give those without money access to justice, but people who can afford to make a contribution are required to do so.
