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Centro chief vows to fight ASIC

Speaking at the company's annual meeting yesterday, Mr Cooper said the claims by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission, were "untested allegations".

Mr Cooper disagreed that ASIC proceedings should automatically require him to step down, saying the board had created a "special matters" committee to deal with the legal action.

Mr Cooper has been named with seven other former directors, although only he and James Hall are still serving on the Centro Properties Group board.

ASIC instigated proceedings on October 21 to disqualify the eight men from managing corporations and fine them $200,000 each.

ASIC says the directors and chief financial officer breached their duties when they approved accounts for the 2006-07 financial year and withheld information about the company's current liabilities.

Centro is also facing legal action from shareholder groups seeking compensation after the company's share price dropped 86.5 per cent in seven days when those liabilities were made public.

Mediation between Centro and shareholders fell apart recently after the lawyers Maurice Blackburn pulled out of the process.

Centro is also suing its former auditors PricewaterhouseCoopers, who in turn are counter-suing Centro. In the meantime, Mr Cooper said, the immediate prioritywas to reorganise and simplifythe company.

"I am not going to mince words - Centro is unsustainably complex and it has to be simplified," he told shareholders.

The boards of Centro Properties Group and Centro Retail Trust were separated in January as a first step. Three new board members were elected yesterday - Anna Buduls, Susan Oliver and Robert Tsenin - and Mr Cooper was re-elected chairman with 98.56 per cent of votes.

Elizabeth Knight Page 8