Craig Thomson signed off on brothel payment, court told Craig Thomson leaves the Melbourne Magistrates' Court. EMBATTLED former MP Craig Thomson signed off a payment to a company linked to a prominent brothel as a legitimate union expense, a court has heard. Former Health Services Union finance officer Belinda Ord told the Melbourne Magistrates' Court today Mr Thomson would often submit memorandums in place of receipts to explain spending on his union-issued credit card. Ms Ord worked for the union while Mr Thomson was national secretary and reported directly to him. She told the court the memorandums listed when, where and why money had been spent and declared the transaction as a legitimate business expense. A memorandum tendered in court declared a payment to a company called Internat Immobiliare made on May 5, 2005, was a union expense. The court heard the name of the company had been hand written on the memo and corresponded to a transaction on Mr Thomson's union-issued Commonwealth Bank MasterCard. International Immobilaire was established in October 2003 by Sydney sex industry kingpin Graeme George Edwards, who ran The Boardroom escort agency and once described himself as "the biggest player in Australia's sex industry." The company was a holding company set up to take payments on behalf of The Boardroom. It was deregistered in 2008 after Mr Edwards was charged over the alleged abduction of one of his brothel managers. The charges were eventually dropped and Mr Edwards moved to New Zealand. Mr Thomson, who lost his NSW seat of Dobell at last year's election, is fighting claims he misused union funds while national secretary of the HSU. He has pleaded not guilty to 145 charges of obtaining ­financial advantage by deception. Prosecutors allege Mr Thomson used union credit cards to hire escorts, pay for X-rated movies, withdraw cash, buy cigarettes, and pay for interstate flights for himself and his wife.