NAB loses millions in alleged corporate fraud case

The chief of staff to NAB’s CEO resigned in December after a whistleblower complained about an alleged corporate fraud.

NAB says it is investigating alleged fraud involving millions of dollars.

The chief of staff to National Australia Bank chief executive Andrew Thorburn resigned in December after a whistleblower complaint was lodged about an alleged corporate fraud arrangement that siphoned millions of dollars out of the bank.

NAB (NAB) on Tuesday confirmed it was targeted in an alleged corporate fraud after Strike Force Napthali, established by NSW State Crime Command’s Financial Crimes Squad, raided several buildings connected to a group the bank had told police was obtaining contracts through an alleged fraud.

The Human Group, which provided executive services and event management logistics to NAB for around a decade, had its offices raided where large amounts of documents and electronic storage devices were seized by police. Chief executive of the Human Group, Helen Rosamond, had her Potts Point house raided. The Human Group did not respond to a request for comment.

Strike Force Napthali was set up to investigate kickbacks for corporate contracts.

“I want to let you know that, this morning, NSW Police informed us of the execution of a search warrant involving a former supplier of the bank,” Mr Thorburn said in an internal memo seen by The Australian. “There will be media and external commentary on this, and I wanted to inform you of the situation,” he said.

“This matter has been investigated by us, and was reported quickly to police, and we will continue to fully co-operate with them. The people under investigation no longer work with the bank, or are involved with us.”

“There are no customers involved or impacted. We will not be commenting further while this remains under Police investigation. Our focus must remain on serving our customers with professionalism and integrity.”

NAB ended its relationship with the Human Group in January this year, after an internal review raised concerns with the relationship between the two companies. NAB had given the findings from its review, which was sparked by an internal whistleblower complaint, to investigators. The scheme allegedly involved a person receiving commissions for making the lender pay inflated invoices.

In late December, Mr Thorburn’s long-serving chief-of-staff Rosemary Rogers resigned following the internal whistle-blower complaint, which was made before Christmas.

The Australian understands Ms Rogers resigned after allegations were put to her by the bank.

Ms Rogers, who did not respond to requests for comment and hung up when contacted by The Australian, worked at NAB for more than 20 years. She held the role of chief of staff to the chief executive since 2009, serving former boss Cameron Clyne and from 2014, Mr Thorburn.

The Australian is not suggesting any wrongdoing on the part of Ms Rogers, who now runs her own consulting group in Melbourne, according to her LinkedIn profile.

NAB provided its findings from an internal review to police in January.

Financial Crimes Squad Commander, Detective Superintendent Linda Howlett, said detectives were working closely with the financial institution’s investigators to establish exactly what had occurred.

“Our corporate corruption team has been working tirelessly to track payments and other funds to determine if an offence has been committed,” Ms Howlett said.

“From the information we have gathered so far, we know there are people who have significant information that may assist us, and we are appealing for them to come forward.

“These investigations are complex and often protracted, but it’s likely even a small piece of valuable information or insight could assist us in resolving the matter swiftly.”