Intimate text messages between the fired head of Royal Bank of Canada and one of her subordinates have been made public in the latest legal battle over their secret office relationship.
Canada’s largest financial institution fired its chief financial officer, Nadine Ang, in April after it was revealed she had been in a 10-year relationship with a subordinate, Ken Mason, who reportedly received a promotion and a pay raise as a result of the relationship.
Mr Ang, 53, retaliated by filing a $50 million lawsuit for wrongful termination earlier this month, while the bank on Friday filed a countersuit seeking $4.5 million in “excess compensation” paid to Mr Mason, 57. Bloomberg.
The latest lawsuit, according to the bank, includes the publication of text messages between Anne and Mason in which the pair exchange romantic poetry and “fantasise about a life together, including reading in bed together”.
According to RBC, Ann was nicknamed “Prickly Pear” and Mason was nicknamed “KD.” Mason has also denied having an intimate relationship with Ann, but is suing the company for $20 million for wrongful termination.
Canada’s largest bank fired its CFO, Nadine Ang (pictured), in April after she reportedly received promotions and raises for her long-running, secret relationship with a subordinate, Ken Mason, 57.
Lewd text messages between the ousted head of Royal Bank of Canada and her junior colleague have been revealed in a shocking lawsuit.
The bank alleges that Ms Ang developed a close relationship with Mr Mason, a corporate finance executive at the bank, as early as 2013 and that the relationship continued until his departure earlier this year.
“Ann forwarded romantic poems to Mr. Mason, describing her as falling in love with him the first time she saw him,” according to the lawsuit filed in Ontario Provincial Court.
Ahn and Mason continued to meet regularly outside the office during this time, and even planned a lunch to celebrate their “fourth anniversary together” on August 18, 2017.
The bank also cited examples of “intimate communications” between the two. According to the lawsuit, “On March 11, 2019, Ann messaged Mason saying, ‘I love you,’ to which Mason replied 15 seconds later, ‘I love you too.'”
Ahn was promoted to CFO in 2021, and RBC accuses her of using that position to coordinate promotions and pay increases for Mason, whom it has allegedly referred to as “Project Ken.”
RBC alleges that as a result of her intervention, he received a substantial 58 percent compensation increase over the two years following his promotion and was promoted to vice president and head of capital and term funds in 2023.
Intimate text messages between the fired Royal Bank of Canada boss and her junior colleague have been revealed in the latest court battle over their secret office relationship.
Ahn is also accused of leaking confidential information to her girlfriend, including the transcript of a speech that CEO Dave MacKay was scheduled to give.
The pair also used calendar invites to arrange “liquidity meetings,” which is code for cocktail plans, according to RBC.
At one “liquidity meeting,” participants wrote notes on coasters at Canoe, an upscale restaurant in Toronto’s Financial District, covering topics such as drink orders and “concerts, nights out, wineries.”
According to RBC, Mason covered the coaster with plexiglass and stored it in his office.
The messages were sent through the bank’s internal messaging system, which the pair regularly used to communicate via, along with their personal devices.
RBC said it launched an investigation after receiving an anonymous whistleblower alleging that Ang and Mason had been in an intimate relationship.
Lawyers for Ahn and Mason did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the counterclaim.
In his wrongful dismissal lawsuit, Ahn argued the bank’s allegations were “demonstrably false” and that his success, career and reputation had been destroyed in an instant by the bank.
Katherine Gibson has been appointed interim CFO while the search for a successor begins.
An RBC spokesman said the company was disappointed to learn the allegations were true.
Ann was a “highly respected member” of management with fiduciary duties and the bank had “great confidence in her abilities,” the spokesman said.
“Contrary to allegations made by Ms Ang and Mr Mason, our investigation found that they had an undisclosed close personal relationship and that Ms Ang misused her power as chief financial officer to directly benefit Mr Mason,” the spokesman said in a statement, adding that all senior executives were bound by a code of conduct.
RBC paid Ang about $3 million for fiscal 2023, a 25% salary increase from the previous year.
When Ang was appointed to her current role in 2021, she was the only female CFO among Canada’s big six banks.
