Travel and accommodation were never given as staff bonuses, a former NAB chief executive has said during a criminal trial against alleged fraudster Helen Rosamond.
The former chief executive of events and human resources company Human Group is accused of stealing millions of dollars from National Australia Bank to pay for presents such as prepaid Mastercards, cars and boats, as well as overseas trips, flights and hotels.
Briefly taking the witness box in Sydney's Downing Centre District Court on Wednesday morning, ex-NAB boss Cameron Clyne was asked about whether some of the items allegedly paid for through fraudulent transactions were ever given as staff bonuses.
"Did you ever use travel or accommodation as a bonus?" asked crown prosecutor Katrina Mackenzie.
"Not to my knowledge, no," Mr Clyne replied.
The former NAB Group CEO, who held the role from January 2009 until August 2014, told jurors that he could not remember whether prepaid Mastercards were offered as bonuses but said this would be "highly unusual" and a "convoluted process" to go through.
He said bonuses given to staff were either cash or bank shares.
Rosamond, 47, has pleaded not guilty to dozens of fraud and bribery charges with prosecutors alleging she was the mastermind behind the scheme that took place between 2013 and 2017.
Invoices were sent out to look like NAB expenditures with Rosamond offering herself money or other items paid for by the Big Four bank as gifts from herself, the Crown alleges.
Mr Clyne's then chief of staff Rosemary Rogers also allegedly played a key role in the scheme by ensuring that the fraudulent invoices continued to be paid by bank staff.
The bank boss told the jury that he had a close relationship with Rogers and that he relied "very closely" on her.
"Being a large organisation spread across a dozen countries, there was a reliance on her to do a fair amount of activities on my behalf," he said.
Rosamond assisted in planning and running bank events such as an executive leadership program that took place from 2009 to 2012 at a location outside San Francisco, the jury heard.
At an event in January 2012, Human Group was paid a fixed fee of $9.3 million for its services.
Both Rosamond and Rogers seemed friendly when seen at these events, the bank boss said.
A month after resigning in August 2014, he told the jury he had personally hired Rosamond's company to plan the catering for an event at his home and had paid for that himself.
There is no suggestion that Mr Clyne knew of or was involved in the allegedly fraudulent scheme.
The hearing continues.
