Former HIH director Terry Cassidy shouldn’t be sent to jail when he is sentenced on Friday because he has provided useful information to the Australian Securities and Investments Commission about the collapse, his lawyer says.

Mr Cassidy, 56, has pleaded guilty to two counts of acting with reckless disregard in making misleading statements, and one count of failing in his duties as a director.

Details of the assistance Mr Cassidy provided after the collapse were submitted to the court, but were not made public. “It’s the sort of assistance which could alter the penalty which ought to be imposed,” barrister Paul Byrne said.

But Crown Prosecutor Paul Roberts says a “full-time custodial sentence is appropriate”.

Each of Mr Cassidy’s three charges carry a maximum sentence of five years’ jail. The charge of failing in his director’s duties also carries a maximum $20,000 fine.