Margin Call: Raid sheds light on departure of former chief of staff to NAB CEO

Human Group CEO Helen Rosamond at her offices in North Sydney today amid a police raid.

No wonder Andrew Thorburn’s NAB army got into such a state about the sudden departure of former chief of staff to the CEO Rosemary Rogers.

After revealing her departure in December, Margin Call reported that there was an “intriguing story emerging” about the abrupt career change by Rogers.

And hasn’t Mick Fuller’s NSW Police backed us up today!

The boys and girls in blue raided the office of former NAB supplier the Human Group, which is run by Helen Rosamond (the one trying to avoid the lens in the photos above).

For towards a decade, Rosamond’s business was the hired help organising the lucrative offsites, conferences and events for NAB’s top 100 executives.

And, for towards a decade, Rogers — as the bank’s all-seeing, all-knowing CEO’s chief-of-staff, first under Cameron Clyne, then under Thorburn — was allegedly responsible for those contracts.

A detective at the Human Group offices in North Sydney today.

The NSW Police allege millions of dollars of inflated commissions have been stolen from NAB. Rogers didn’t return calls today.

The bank was first tipped off about the alleged rort by a whistle blower in mid-December.

As Margin Call reported at the time, Rogers was promptly recalled from annual leave to meet with Thorburn. By the end of their meeting, the 20-year NAB veteran resigned.

In his note to NAB’s leadership team, Thorburn said a “lapse of judgement” was the trigger for Rogers departure. That’s one way to describe the fraud allegations!

The famously pinstriped Kiwi revealed the personal nature of their relationship.

“She cared for me and my family,” Thorburn noted in his email.

Making it even more hurtful for the boss, Margin Call understands after succeeding Clyne in 2014, the new CEO Thorburn was encouraged by members of his executive team to move Rogers on. He didn’t.

The rest is one hell of a white collar crime investigation.

Read the full Margin Call column tomorrow in print and online.