NAB paid false $2.2 million invoice after claim it was needed for Mike Baird,court told

National Australia Bank paid a false invoice worth $2.2 million after a trusted staff member and her associate colluded to claim the money was needed to employ former NSW premier Mike Baird,a jury has been told.

Helen Rosamond,47,is on trial in the NSW District Court accused of paying millions of dollars to Rosemary Rogers,a chief of staff in the office of NAB’s chief executive,between 2013 and 2017 to secure event planning contracts and ensure inflated invoices were paid.

Helen Rosamond arrives at the NSW District Court on Tuesday.

Helen Rosamond arrives at the NSW District Court on Tuesday.Oscar Colman

She has pleaded not guilty to 60 counts of giving a corrupt benefit,30 counts of dishonestly obtaining a financial advantage by deception,and two counts of attempting to dishonestly obtain a financial advantage.

The court heard Rogers,who had worked for the bank since 1995,was authorised to approve payments up to $20 million and her approvals were given limited oversight due to her seniority and the often secretive nature of projects in her office.

Rosamond allegedly bought luxury items for Rogers including expensive holidays,a BMW sports car,a boat,a caravan,and a $460,000 patio renovation,then included the cost of these items in invoices sent to NAB which Rogers paid.

Rosemary Rogers,who had worked for the bank since 1995,was authorised to approve payments up to $20 million,the court heard.

Rosemary Rogers,who had worked for the bank since 1995,was authorised to approve payments up to $20 million,the court heard.Sam Mooy

She is also accused of using NAB’s money to make purchases for herself,including $40,000 on outdoor umbrellas,$372,000 for landscaping,a $139,841 family holiday with $50,000 in spending money and $228,747 for an interior designer to furnish her home.

Crown prosecutor Katrina Mackenzie said Rogers and Rosamond cooked up a scheme to issue a completely fraudulent invoice to NAB in late 2017,so Rogers could secure the deposit for a $3.8 million house and Rosamond could be paid $700,000.

The invoice was sent by Rosamond’s company Human Group,which had regularly carried out event planning services for NAB executives,and was paid by the bank on October 3,2017.

Mackenzie said the invoice claimed to be for “Project Eagle”,the internal NAB code word for the recruitment process of Mike Baird for the role of chief customer officer in corporate and institutional banking.

Former NSW premier Mike Baird.

Former NSW premier Mike Baird.Wolter Peeters

“Some of you may know he was the former NSW premier,and this was a high-profile recruitment,” the prosecutor said.

“You’ll hear evidence that the reference to Project Eagle was specifically chosen by the accused and Rogers because they knew no one would ask questions,and they were right.”

When one staff member queried the invoice,the court heard,Rogers said it related to “work re Mike’s onboarding” and said the money would be paid to others to ensure Baird’s employment.

Mackenzie said the “real recruiters” would tell the court “the recruitment cost about $60,000,and not $2.2 million”.

She said Rosamond had “nothing to do with Mr Baird’s recruitment” and had only been asked to book a hotel room for a meeting between Baird and the bank’s chief executive in January 2017.

“The only reason she knew the term Project Eagle is because Rogers told her,” Mackenzie said. “Put simply,this invoice was fake,it was false,and it was a fraud. It was aimed at getting a quick $2.2 million,and it worked.”

She said the “long-running criminal conspiracy” between Rosamond and Rogers was exposed after a whistleblower,whose identity remains unknown,sent a letter to NAB executives in December 2017.

In an opening statement,Rosamond’s barrister Dr Anton Hughes said it is not in dispute that his client was the director of Human Group,and in that capacity she regularly sent invoices to NAB which were approved by Rogers.

He said it is also not disputed that Rogers pleaded guilty to a number of charges relating to her misconduct,the details of which overlap to some degree with the charges Rosamond faces.

However,he said,the central issue in the case will be whether Rosamond was party to an agreement with Rogers to defraud the bank.

“[The] interpretation that it was all Ms Rosamond’s idea is very much disputed,” Hughes said. “The defence is likely to raise an alternative interpretation,that it was Ms Rogers who took those benefits for herself.”

Hughes said the court “isn’t a court of morals” and the jury should not use their verdict to send a message to the community “that fraud is a bad thing”.

“It’s not for you to feel sorry for the bank’s customers,whose account-keeping fees were spent on Rosemary Rogers’ patio,and find someone to blame for it,” he said.

“It’s not for you to decide whether the NAB should have spent tens of millions of dollars every year on events for its executives. Your job,consistently with the oath you took ... is to decide upon the guilt,or otherwise,in respect of those counts on the indictment.”

Hughes urged the jurors to keep an open mind and avoid making a judgment in the case until they were “fully armed with all the facts and all the law”.

The trial continues.

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Georgina Mitchell is a court reporter for The Sydney Morning Herald.

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