(Bloomberg) -- Royal Bank of Canada said it has proof that its former chief financial officer engaged in an intimate relationship with a colleague, citing exchanges between the two over text messages and emails.
The bank filed a statement of defense and counterclaim on Friday in the wrongful dismissal lawsuit filed earlier this month by Nadine Ahn, the executive it fired in April over what it said was an undisclosed personal relationship.
The legal filing said Ahn began a close personal relationship with a colleague, Ken Mason — an executive in the bank’s corporate treasury group — as early as 2013 and that it continued until the date of her exit from the bank.
It cites “intimate communications” — including declarations of love — exchanged between the two over text message, “some of which Ms. Ahn copied into her work email.”
Lawyers for Mason and Ahn didn’t immediately reply to messages seeking comment. Ahn said in her lawsuit that she and Mason were friends but denied that they were romantic partners.
“We received allegations from an anonymous whistle-blower and immediately commenced a thorough investigation conducted by external legal counsel,” the bank said in a statement. “We were disappointed to learn the allegations were true.”
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