Businesswoman gave car,boat and holidays to NAB employee in kickbacks,court told

A Sydney businesswoman bought a luxury car for a senior National Australia Bank employee and paid for a $620,000 overseas holiday as part of a series of kickbacks to ensure her inflated invoices kept getting paid,a jury has heard.

Helen Rosamond,47,is on trial in the NSW District Court accused of paying millions of dollars to Rosemary Rogers,the chief of staff in the office of NAB’s chief executive,between 2013 and 2017. Rogers,who had worked for the bank since 1995,was authorised to approve payments of up to $20 million.

Rosamond allegedly paid for luxury travel,accommodation,and a vehicle for Rogers,in return for Rogers approving inflated invoices that incorrectly attributed personal expenses to NAB including $228,000 for an interior designer to furnish Rosamond’s home.

Rosamond has pleaded not guilty to 60 counts of giving a corrupt benefit and 32 counts of dishonestly obtaining a financial advantage by deception.

In an opening statement on Monday,Crown prosecutor Katrina Mackenzie said the charges total $15 million.

She said the arrangement between Rosamond and Rogers started small,but it “grew and grew” until eventually their “greed,dependence and perhaps arrogance started to contribute to the unravelling of their criminal enterprise and ultimately,their downfall”.

A whistleblower anonymously alerted NAB to the arrangement between the pair,triggering an internal investigation and police involvement. The person’s identity remains unknown.

The prosecutor said the scheme began when Rosamond’s business,the Human Group,was chosen to organise a series of NAB events over several years and the two women started talking about their personal lives,including places they would like to travel.

The jury is expected to hear when Rogers mentioned travel,Rosamond would say “just leave it with me”,and the travel plans would be organised with no cost to her. Later,when Human Group invoices came to Rogers for approval,they allegedly included the cost of her own holidays and an additional mark-up.

“Rogers will tell you she knew she was approving invoices that included provision for her personal benefits that the accused was arranging,” Mackenzie said.

“The accused had Rosemary Rogers in her pocket ...[she] could invoice the NAB for almost anything she wanted.”

The prosecutor said Rosamond bought Rogers a BMW M5 worth $172,000,a $91,000 caravan,a $145,000 boat,berthing fees at a marina,cash,prepaid credit cards,and a number of luxurious holidays including a $620,000 trip to the United States,which included the use of private jets.

Rosamond regularly arranged accommodation and flights for Rogers and her family,the jury was told,including flights to Chile as a present for Rogers’ nanny,weekends away at the Wolgan Valley resort north-west of Sydney,helicopter flights and limousine transfers,and a $250,414 stay at a private island in Fiji.

On one occasion,the prosecutor said,Rosamond arranged for Rogers to stay at the Hilton Hotel in Melbourne,but Rogers complained that the rooms were too small and she was transferred to Crown Towers instead.

The prosecutor said Rosamond and Rogers became so close that they referred to each other as “bestie” and went to high-end restaurants and horse races together,with Rosamond amending her will to leave 5 per cent of her estate to Rogers.

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Mackenzie said Rogers was given “in excess of $2.5 million in corrupt benefits” between January 2013 and August 2016,during which time she approved more than 15 invoices for Human Group worth tens of millions of dollars.

Questions were raised about the invoices in late 2017 by another NAB staff member,with the jury shown an email in which the staffer said she had “fallen off her chair” when she saw the cost. Rogers was able to explain away the invoices using her seniority and the sometimes secretive nature of projects in the chief executive’s office,the prosecutor said.

The court heard NAB was Human Group’s “only substantial client” between 2013 and 2018,with the bank “keeping the accused and her company afloat”.

Rogers has been prosecuted and jailed for her role in the NAB arrangement,the jury was told,and is expected to give evidence in the trial.

Rosamond is also accused of presenting an inflated invoice to a second company,after she was recommended to it by a former NAB staff member. She allegedly quoted a price of about $120,000 for two Christmas parties and sent through an invoice for $620,884,offering a doctored email to suggest a former staff member had agreed to the amount.

The trial continues.

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