Royal Bank of Canada said it had evidence that its former chief financial officer had an intimate relationship with a colleague, but did not disclose it, citing text and email exchanges between the two.
Canada’s largest lender filed a statement of defence and counterclaim Friday in its unfair dismissal lawsuit. It was introduced earlier this month. Written by Nadine Ahn, the executive fired in April after 25 years at the bank.
The legal filing said Anne began a close personal relationship with a colleague, Ken Mason – an executive in the bank’s institutional treasury group – as early as 2013, and that it continued until the time of her departure.
The document offers a remarkably detailed look at how the bank claims the relationship lasted for more than a decade. It includes descriptions of how the bankers met frequently outside of work for cocktails, celebrated anniversaries, exchanged romantic poems and called each other by pet names — “Prickly Pear” for Ahn, “KD” for Mason.
Their text messages “talk about imagining life together, like reading in bed together,” RBC’s court filing said.
“Ms. Anne sent Mr. Mason a romantic poem expressing how she had fallen in love with Mr. Mason when she first saw him,” according to the filing. “Ms. Anne and Mr. Mason continued to see each other regularly outside the office during this time period, and arranged a lunch on August 18, 2017, to celebrate their ‘fourth wedding anniversary.’”
The close relationship continued after she was promoted to CFO in 2021, according to the documents. RBC alleges that Ann used her position within the company to orchestrate promotions and pay raises for Mason, an effort it says Mason referred to as “Project Kane” in a document he prepared. The bank also alleges that she shared confidential information with Mason, such as a draft of a speech to be given by CEO Dave Mackay.
Read more: Former RBC CFO says she tried to run for CEO before bank fired her
The file states that RBC had no access to their communications, “except to the extent that Ms. Ann and Mr. Mason copied personal communications into RBC systems.”
Attorneys for Mason and Ahn did not return messages seeking comment. In her lawsuit, Ahn said she and Mason were friends but denied they were romantic partners. Mason, who has filed a separate lawsuit against RBC for wrongful termination, has also denied a romantic relationship and said the bank would have treated them differently if they were men.
‘I love you too’
The bank cites “intimate communications” between the two men via text messages. For example, it states: “On 11 March 2019, Ms Anne sent Mr Mason a text saying, ‘I love you.’ Mr Mason replied 15 seconds later, ‘I love you too.’”
The two men allegedly used the calendar invitations to schedule “liquidity meetings,” which the bank said was code for going out for cocktails. At one such meeting, the men wrote notes about their drink orders and other topics like “concert, night out, winery” on a coaster from Cano, an upscale restaurant in Toronto’s financial district. RBC alleges that Mason covered the coaster with clear glass and kept it in his office.
The bank said it began investigating in March after an anonymous whistleblower alleged that Anne and Mason were seen “hugging, kissing and getting out of elevators” at the Fairmont Royal York, a hotel next to RBC’s headquarters.
“Bank officials immediately launched a comprehensive investigation conducted by outside legal counsel,” Royal Bank of Canada spokeswoman Gillian McArdle said in an emailed statement Friday. “We are disappointed to learn that these allegations are true.”
The Globe and Mail had previously reported on RBC’s filing with the court.
Ahn’s lawsuit included complaints about the way Royal Bank handled the investigation, the speed with which she was fired after being confronted with the allegations on April 5, and the damage to her reputation when the bank issued a press release the same day.
“Contrary to the allegations made by Ms. Anne and Mr. Mason, the investigation revealed a close, undisclosed personal relationship, and that Ms. Anne abused her authority as a financial officer to directly benefit Mr. Mason,” McArdle said. “As an appointed executive, we had an obligation to disclose this.”
In his lawsuit, Ahn is seeking about C$50 million ($37 million) in wages and damages, while Mason is suing Royal Bank for more than C$20 million in wages and damages.
In its counterclaim against Ann, RBC is seeking approximately $4.5 million CAD in damages for the “overcompensation” paid to Mason and the return of bonuses paid to Ann, as well as damages and other costs.
RBC’s filings indicate that when another employee raised concerns about Mason’s pay, An terminated that person without cause. The former employee “claimed damages from RBC for bad-faith termination, due to Ms. An’s conduct,” the bank said.