Primary Healthcare and its criminally charged chief executive Peter Gregg face a long and drawn out court process that would likely take at least 18 months, according to legal experts.
Several senior counsel specialising in criminal law in NSW said hopes expressed by some close to the company that the matter could be put to rest in as little as six months were misguided, with all tipping the process would extend well into 2018.
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Former Leighton executive details corruption
Former Leighton Holdings executive Stephen Sasse recounts the time he encountered a suspicious $15 million payment authorised by Leighton's then-finance chief Peter Gregg.
Mr Gregg has been charged with two counts of falsifying the books and records while chief financial officer of engineering giant Leighton Holdings, which is now known as CIMIC.
The charges laid by the corporate watchdog the Australian Securities and Investments Commission relate to Mr Gregg allegedly signing off a $15 million offshore payment in 2011.
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Mr Gregg alleged made the $15 million payment to a Dubai consultant to obtain steel at preferred prices. A Fairfax Media expose last year revealed links between the Dubai consultant and shadowy global consultancy house Unaoil.
If found guilty, Mr Gregg could face up to two years in prison on each charge, fines and being banned from managing companies for up to five years.
Strenuous denial
Mr Gregg was notified by ASIC on January 9 about the charges. He is due to appear before Sydney Downing Centre Local Court on January 31 for a mention.
Mr Gregg strenuously denies the allegations and is suing Fairfax Media for defamation.
His lawyer, Reaymond McGuinness of Webb Henderson, said on Tuesday Mr Gregg denied he had breached any civil or criminal law.
"He will be seeking to have the notice heard as a matter of urgency," Mr McGuinness said.
The amount of time the matter will take to be heard by the courts is of chief concern for the board which spent Thursday afternoon locked in another meeting to discuss whether to ask Mr Gregg to stand aside or resign.
It is believed the internal view of the company is a board member or executive could step in as an interim chief executive for a six month to one year period.
One barrister who declined to be named said a standard committal hearing would take six months to be completed in Sydney.
"Finance matters such as fraud or falsifying books and records can take even longer than a standard committal hearing because it can be terribly complex," one of the barristers told Fairfax Media.
Lengthy process
Another senior counsel said the two-stage criminal process of a committal hearing followed by a trial would be a lengthy one.
The committal would likely take six months to be completed and then it would be another year before the matter comes to trial.
"The trial itself could take between three and four weeks to be heard," the senior counsel said.
Another senior counsel said even if Mr Gregg was allowed to waive his right to a committal hearing to speed up the matter (a move that would not necessarily be in his best interests) he could truncate the period of time it would take.
However, the barrister said the earliest available trial date for a matter of this kind would be in October or November.
One of the silks also said there was a small chance Mr Gregg could have the matter thrown out by the magistrate at committal, thus avoiding a trial, but said it would be unusual for ASIC to present a case that would be knocked out at a committal phase.