Disgraced Bill Jeffries quits

Published: 12:54PM Monday March 05, 2012 Source: Fairfax

Lombard Finance's former directors. - Source: ONE News

Former cabinet minister Bill Jeffries has stood down as chairman of NZX-listed Insured Group citing ''personal reasons''.

Jeffries, along with former National Party cabinet minister Sir Douglas Graham and two other former Lombard Finance directors were last month found guilty yesterday on four charges of making false statements in documents seeking money from the public in December 2007.

In a statement to the NZX posted this morning Insured Group said Jeffries had stood down effective March 1.

''Hon William (Bill) Patrick Jeffries has been a fine Chairman of unquestionable integrity, honesty and efficiency in his role, which possesses an impeccable skill with corporate governance,'' managing director Wayne Miller said in a statement.

''The Board of Insured unequivocally supports him and wishes him well in his future endeavors.''

He has been replaced by Barry Driscoll. The company said it would seek a waiver from NZX to give it time to find a replacement New Zealand resident director. In 2010 the company was censured and fined $7500 by the NZ Market Disciplinary Tribunal for failing to have the required two New Zealand directors for around a month in 2010.

Insured Group is a general insurance intermediary which specialises in insurance distribution which was spun out of Lombard Group, the parent company of Lombard Finance, after a reverse takeover of Australian Consolidated Insurance. Most of its operations are in Australia.

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Disgraced Bill Jeffries quits