Antoinette Bolden told a jury that disputed banking transactions at the centre of the Emerald Capital International theft trial were legitimate expenses claimed by herself and husband David.She said the funds they are accused of stealing were actually amounts they were owed for company-related expenses such as payroll tax, telephone bills and rent.The couple stand accused of stealing around $252,000 from the company, and of laundering $65,000 of the allegedly stolen funds.Mrs Bolden, 47, told the jury when she first took the witness stand on Thursday that they never stole any money or charged anything improper to the company.Emerald Capital International [ECI] was owned by the Boldens in conjunction with two Canadian businessmen, John Wright and Jason Bagg, who have accused the couple of theft.They claimed in evidence for the prosecution that the Boldens siphoned funds from the company without permission or authorisation.Prosecutor Susan Mulligan alleged during her opening speech on May 9 that the couple plundered the accounts to pay debts and live beyond their means.She alleged that other stolen funds covered bank overdrafts and propped up their other companies, the Emerald Financial Group, in order to retain their Bermuda Monetary Authority licences.The Boldens are further accused of misleading the Bermuda Monetary Authority.Mrs Bolden went through each of the disputed transactions yesterday, in response to questions from defence lawyer Saul Froomkin QC.She explained that she and her husband paid “in excess of $200,000” out of their own pockets towards ECI.Although the Canadian partners told the trial the amounts claimed back were not agreed, Mrs Bolden said there was a meeting where the matter was agreed.She listed items ranging from the costs of setting up a website to office expenses and IT support. Other costs they reclaimed stemmed from overseas business trips and long-distance phone calls, she said.Although prosecutors claim the Boldens were in deep financial trouble at the time of the alleged theft, Mrs Bolden said they were jointly earning “around $25,000-plus a month” leading up to that time.When Mr Froomkin inquired: “What financial pressure, if any, were you under?” she replied, “we didn't feel under any financial pressure”.She said while their bank accounts were overdrawn, this was because they were setting up a new wireless technology project and “it's normal for there to be ebbs and flows” when running a company.When prosecutor Ms Mulligan began her cross examination, she asked Mrs Bolden about allegations from the Canadian partners that, as chief financial officer of ECI, she failed to complete the required financial statements.Mrs Bolden replied that it was not possible to complete them as she was waiting on decisions from Mr Bagg and Mr Wright about how to prepare the accounts.However, she said she maintained a list of ECI expenses on a spreadsheet.When Ms Mulligan suggested Mrs Bolden did not think the Canadian partners “were very good directors,” Mrs Bolden countered: “I didn't say that.”She went on to add: “Perhaps they were just indecisive.”The Boldens, of Harrington Sound Road, Hamilton Parish, face 14 theft charges, five money laundering charges and one of giving false information to the BMA.They deny all of them and the case continues.