The Sensible Sentencing Trust has lost its legal bid to stop the head of the failed finance company Bridgecorp from being released on parole.
In a decision released in the last hour, the High Court in Wellington has dismissed a bid by the trust for a judicial review of the Parole Board's decision to release Rod Petricevic from jail on Monday.
Following Bridgecorp's collapse in 2007, Petricevic was charged with 18 counts of fraud involving $490 million.
He was convicted in 2012 and has now served half of his sentence of nearly seven years.
The Trust had argued Petricevic was likely to commit fraud again and it was unreasonable for the board to rely solely on a psychologist's report paid for by the defendant.
However, in dismissing the claim, Judge Rebecca Ellis found the Trust has no standing to seek a judicial review of the decision.
