Royal Bank of Canada ex-CFO sues for $36M after she was fired over affair accusations

Royal Bank of Canada’s ex-CFO Nadine Ahn is suing the bank for $36 million after she was fired over allegations that she was having an affair with another employee — which she denies — and giving him preferential treatment.

Ahn claims she suffered “public humiliation” and “palpable reputational harm,” according to the lawsuit filed in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice.

The largest Canadian bank said Ahn was fired on April 5 after an investigation found “irrefutable evidence” that she violated the bank’s code of conduct.

The bank accused Ahn of having an undisclosed personal relationship with Ken Mason, who was the head of capital and term funding at the bank and was also fired in April.

An RBC spokesperson told The Post that the investigation found the relationship led to “preferential treatment” of Mason, including “promotion and compensation increases.”

Ahn claims that RBC CEO David McKay texted her the night before she was fired and asked her to meet in the morning.

When Ahn showed up the next day, McKay was absent, according to the suit. Instead, a lawyer peppered her with questions about Mason, the filing said.

Her laptop and cellphones were seized the same day, the filing said.

Ahn said the bank’s claims that she had a relationship with Mason and gave him preferential treatment as a result are “patently false.”

Instead, Ahn said she has been close friends with Mason since 2013 — well before she became CFO, the suit said.

Their friendship has never been a secret, the filing said.

Mason has also filed suit against the bank, seeking about $14.5 million in pay and damages.

He claimed the bank “ambushed” him with a “discriminatory” and “inappropriate” meeting.

His lawsuit said if he and Ahn were the same gender, the bank would not have pursued an investigation.

“RBC opted to make an example of Ken and Ahn by wrongly publicly shaming them in order to project moral righteousness, appearing to swiftly investigate and punish perceived corruption,” the filing said.

An RBC spokesperson told The Post in a statement that the claims are “without merit” and the bank “will vigorously defend against them in court.”

The Toronto-based bank previously said it launched the investigation into Ahn and Mason’s relationship after it was made aware of allegations against the ex-CFO in March. 

An RBC spokesperson said the bank “immediately” tapped outside legal counsel to investigate the claims.

Ahn’s Facebook profile says she is married. Her social media profile had the same status in April.

In April, Ahn’s LinkedIn profile showed she began her 12-year tenure at RBC as a senior manager, before being promoted to managing director, then vice president and senior vice president.

She was promoted to the bank’s C-suite in 2021.

The 52-year-old was bringing home a hefty salary before she was sacked.

By 2023, she was making about $3 million a year — consisting of about $475,000 in salary and more than $2.5 million in bonuses and stock awards, according to Bloomberg. 

Her annual earnings in 2023 were up 25% from the year before.

Top RBC executives who are fired for cause are not owed severance and could be asked to forfeit bonus awards, according to the bank’s annual proxy circular. 

The bank declined to comment on whether Ahn had to give back any of her 2023 earnings.

In April, RBC named longtime employee Katherine Gibson the interim CFO.

Gibson has held multiple senior positions during her more than two decades at the company, including her most recent role as senior vice president of finance and controller.