The ex-husband of an executive accused of defrauding millions of dollars at NAB says he thought he paid for a family vacation abroad from his personal bank account.
“Everything was organized, booked and managed by Helen,” Geoffrey Rosamond told the NSW District Court jury on Thursday.
Helen Mary Rosamond, 47, has pleaded not guilty to dozens of fraud and corruption charges, claiming she orchestrated a multi-million dollar scam against the bank between 2013 and 2017.
The CEO of the human resources and events company Human Group is accused of being involved in fraudulent invoices similar to NAB expenses.
The money would be spent on lavish vacations, extravagant gifts and other items, as well as bribes to a bank employee accused of involvement in the scam.
Mr. Rosamond said he had a saloon business when he met his wife at work in 2003.
They got married in 2006 and she joined him in his various companies, including Human Group.
In 2005 he submitted a proposal to the NAB for a conference abroad.
“Helen said, ‘It’s right for me, I’ll take the lead,'” he said.
The day after their marriage, she was appointed general secretary of all companies.
After they and another worker attended the NAB Leaders Summit in Hong Kong, Mr. Rosamond said he was no longer personally involved in any of the bank’s events.
His wife told him it was considered too “selling”, but Human Group continued its business relationship with NAB.
“Helen had an amazing set of skills,” he said.
“He has managed these projects all over the world, it has been a success.”
He later fulfilled his “ultimatum” to shut down one of the other companies.
“In fact, it was the main source of income, bringing all of NAB’s money.”
At tax time he reviewed the accounts, but was not involved in the day-to-day decisions or Human Group bills that were his wife’s responsibility.
He said in a 2012 meeting between the sales manager, his wife and himself that he had been told he had to leave because he was a “loose cannon” who shouldn’t have been involved in customer-facing roles.
“It was all and I was excited.”
His wife was later appointed CEO of the companies and was not allowed to be involved.
In 2015, the family, including her parents, took a trip abroad for her 40th birthday.
He was trying to raise capital for a commercial venture, but on the train to Toronto his wife told him that he had closed a business and that the staff had already been paid for the layoffs.
“I resigned as a director of all the companies and approved Helen as a director.”
He remained in Toronto, with no access to funds, while the rest of the family traveled to other cities including New York and Washington DC.
Asked if he knew how the trip was financed, Mr. Rosamond said no, but said he assumed it came from his personal bank account.
He also said his wife told him in 2014 that she paid for a used car for her mother.
He will continue his testimony on Friday.