After firing her in early April, Royal Bank of Canada is now facing a lawsuit from their former CFO Nadine Ahn and former head of capital and term funding Ken Mason. Ahn and Mason say they were not only fired but had their reputations ruined as a result of false accusations of an inappropriate relationship between the two.
Ahn is seeking $36 million ($49 million CAD) for “public humiliation” and “palpable reputational harm,” according to the lawsuit filed on August 8 in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice. The accusations, which include her having an extramarital affair with Mason and giving him preferential treatment, are false, she says.
According to Ahn, the night before she was fired, RBC’s CEO David McKay texted her and requested a meeting for the following morning. However, Ahn claims McKay never intended to meet with her.
When Ahn arrived for the meeting with McKay, she learned the meeting wasn’t with McKay but with a lawyer who was there to prepare her for questions about the details of her relationship with Mason. Ahn then had her laptop and cell phone seized the same day.
Ahn says she and Mason became close friends well before she became CFO. Her suit claims their friendship was never a secret.
Mason is also pursuing damages for similar reasons, totaling $14.5 million. According to his lawsuit, he claims the bank “ambushed” him with a meeting that he refers to as “discriminatory” and inappropriate. He also suggests in his suit that the bank assumed the relationship was inappropriate because of their gender.
“RBC opted to make an example of Ken and Ahn by wrongly publicly shaming them in order to project moral righteousness, appearing to swiftly investigate and punish perceived corruption,” the filing reads.
An RBC spokesperson told The New York Post in a statement that the claims are “without merit” and the bank “will vigorously defend against them in court.”
Katherine Gibson, who was named interim CFO, continues to hold the position. There are no details about whether Gibson will be promoted or if there is an ongoing search to fill the role.
