RBC's ex-CFO sues bank for $36million for wrongful dismissal and 'public humiliation' after she was fired over affair with colleague she denies having

Royal Bank of Canada's ex chief financial officer is suing the bank for $36 million, claiming that she suffered 'public humiliation' after she was fired over an undisclosed personal relationship with a colleague, which she denies.

Nadine Ahn, 52, filed a lawsuit in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, saying was humiliated and suffered 'palpable reputational harm'. 

Ahn's employment was terminated by RBC on April 5 after the bank said she had violated its code of conduct for being involved in an 'undisclosed close personal relationship with another employee'. 

Ahn's lawsuit explains how the bank's chief executive officer Dave McKay had sent her a text message on the evening of April 4, asking her to attend a meeting the following day. 

However, according to Bloomberg, her court filing says that when she turned up, McKay wasn't present, and she was met by a lawyer who asked her several questions about a fellow employee, Ken Mason, who worked in the bank's corporate treasury group. 

Former RBC CFO Nadine Ahn has filed a lawsuit against the Canadian bank, for wrongful dismissal and 'public humiliation' after she was fired over affair with colleague she denies having

Sign of RBC (Royal Bank of Canada) in Toronto's financial district Toronto, Ontario

RBC's investigator accused Ahn of providing Mason with preferential treatment and insinuated that they were having an affair,' according to her statement, which Ahn says are 'patently false.'

A spokesperson for RBC told MailOnline: 'We conducted a thorough review with an investigation by outside legal counsel and the facts are very clear that there was a significant breach of our Code of Conduct based on the irrefutable evidence collected during the investigation. 

'RBC values its culture of holding its employees - and in particular its senior leadership team - to high ethical standards and a CFO’s integrity must be beyond reproach.

'In accordance with securities laws in Canada and the U.S., and given that Ms. Ahn was a Named Executive Officer of the bank, we were required to act quickly and to publicly disclose the full amount of detail and information required in a timely manner.'

RBC said in a statement in April that it had been 'made aware of allegations involving Ms Ahn and immediately launched an internal review and engaged outside legal counsel to investigate.' It added that the alleged relationship had led to 'preferential treatment of the employee including promotion and compensation increases'. 

Mason, who was also fired, has also filed a lawsuit against RBC, claiming more than C$20 million in pay and damages. His statement claims that the bank 'ambushed' him with a 'discriminatory and inappropriate/unreasonable workplace investigation meeting' that was 'unfair, biased and procedurally flawed'. 

According to his LinkedIn, Mason was the Head of Capital and Term Funding at the bank. 

Ahn's filing said that she had been friends with Mason since 2013. It also argued that RBC's code of conduct did not recquire her to disclose a friendship with a coworker, and said that in any case 'her friendship with Mr.Mason was not concealed from RBC in any way'.

Katherine Gibson (pictured) has stepped in as interim CFO for RBC following Ahn's departure

Ahn, who is in her early 50's, began her 20-year tenure at RBC as a senior manager, before being promoted to managing director, then vice president and senior vice president, according to her LinkedIn. Canada's largest bank paid Ahn some $3million USD in fiscal 2023, a figure that represented a 25 percent salary increase from the year prior.

At the time she was appointed in 2021 to her now-former role, Ahn was the only female CFO at any of the Big Six Canadian banks. 

According to her Facebook, she is married. 

Following Ahn's departure, the bank appointed Katherine Gibson as its interim CFO, as a replacement search gets underway.

Gibson has been at RBC for two decades and mostly recently served in the role of Senior Vice President, Finance & Controller, a role that included oversight of the board reporting process and management of the bank's accounting policy and financial management systems.