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Royal Bank of Canada\u2019s former chief financial officer, fired over allegations she had an undisclosed personal relationship with another executive, said the bank was trying to \u201cmanufacture\u201d a reason to get rid of her, as both sides double down in the increasingly acrimonious fight.<\/a><\/p>\n Nadine Ahn repeated her denial that she was in a romantic relationship with Ken Mason, a former executive in the bank\u2019s treasury department. The two were nothing more than \u201cgood friends,\u201d and Ahn never abused her power to orchestrate promotions or pay raises for him, according to new legal documents filed in an Ontario court.\u00a0<\/p>\n Canada\u2019s biggest bank sacked Ahn in April after an investigation sparked by an anonymous whistleblower\u2019s complaint about the alleged relationship. The former CFO, one of the country\u2019s most prominent women in finance with 25 years of experience at the bank, filed a\u00a0wrongful dismissal lawsuit\u00a0last month.\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n The bank fired back one week later, alleging it has more than a decade of communications between Ahn and Mason proving the two had an intimate relationship that they failed to disclose. RBC claimed the colleagues used pet names, swapped romantic poetry, celebrated anniversaries and met outside of work for drinks.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIt is clear that RBC\u2019s conclusions are based on conjecture and speculation, and are a blatant, deliberate attempt to manufacture a just cause termination,\u201d the court filing states.\u00a0<\/p>\n RBC has \u201cselectively quoted\u201d communications between the former colleagues, Ahn\u2019s lawyer, Mark Fletcher, said in a separate statement on Thursday. \u201cThere is no policy against workplace friendships, and that\u2019s all this was.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n A spokesperson for RBC declined to comment on Ahn\u2019s new filings but referred to the bank\u2019s previous responses and court filings. \u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cMs. Ahn was a highly respected member of the executive team and a senior leader with fiduciary responsibilities. We supported her career growth and had great confidence in her abilities,\u201d the company said in an earlier statement. After receiving the anonymous complaint, the bank \u201cimmediately commenced a thorough investigation conducted by external legal counsel. We were disappointed to learn the allegations were true.\u201d<\/p>\n RBC has also said it had an obligation to disclose Ahn\u2019s dismissal in a news release because she was a named executive officer of the company.\u00a0<\/p>\n Lawyers for Mason, who is also suing for wrongful dismissal, didn\u2019t reply to a request for comment.\u00a0<\/p>\n Mason earned his promotions and pay raises, Fletcher said. \u201cNadine was supportive when consulted about these decisions because they made sense. There are many checks and balances at the bank to ensure no individual can unilaterally determine compensation.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n In the court filing, Ahn argued the bank\u2019s policies don\u2019t require the disclosure of workplace friendships. RBC executives regularly socialized outside of work with one another, and some even took vacations together. Nicknames were a common part of the workplace culture, the documents claim.\u00a0<\/p>\n Ahn further denied RBC\u2019s allegations that she inappropriately shared confidential information with Mason and that she lied to external investigators when confronted about the relationship.\u00a0<\/p>\n She said a situation in which she fired an employee for having an undisclosed romantic relationship with a subordinate was \u201cfundamentally different than the workplace friendship\u201d she had with Mason. \u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n (Updates with company\u2019s past responses in eighth paragraph.)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\nRBC\u2019s Allegations\u00a0<\/h3>\n
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