Ex-NAB employee on bail
THE former chief of staff to National Australia Bank boss Andrew Thorburn is facing a lengthy jail sentence if convicted on more than 50 charges laid against her over an alleged multimillion-dollar fraud.
Rosemary Rogers, 43, has been charged with 56 counts of corruptly receiving a benefit and one count of dishonestly obtaining a financial advantage by deception.
The charges, laid yesterday, relate to an alleged scheme involving $40 million of contracts the bank granted to Human Group, a company run by her co-accused, Helen Rosamond.
Ms Rogers faced Sydney’s Central Local Court yesterday after being arrested at the Sydney Police Centre in Surry Hills about 11am. She was granted strict bail. Police will allege Ms Rogers, from Melbourne, received bribes in the form of paid personal expenses to the value of more than $5.4 million from a contractor to maintain the contract and approve overstated invoices.
Under NSW law, corruptly receiving a benefit can attract up to seven years jail while dishonestly obtaining a financial advantage carries a penalty of up to 10 years.
Some 31 of the corruption charges laid against Ms Rogers relate to kickbacks alleged to each exceed $15,000.
As part of bail conditions, Ms Rogers must obey a nightly curfew at her home, report daily to police and not use encrypted messaging services.