Citigroup has won a court case in London against a former financial crime analyst at the bank who was dismissed for filing an expense claim for lunch and coffee for his partner on a work trip and then lying about it.
Szabolcs Fekete claimed in a London employment tribunal he had been unfairly and wrongfully dismissed by Citigroup last November. The case was heard last month and the judge rejected the claims in a ruling on September 19, which was published on Friday.
Fekete travelled to Amsterdam on a three-day business trip in July 2022 and prior to going he informed his colleague he was taking his partner. When he submitted an expenses claim two days after returning it was queried because it appeared to show meals and drinks for more than one person, the tribunal's ruling said.
When asked if two sandwiches, two coffees and another drink were all consumed by him, Fekete replied: “Yes – that is correct. Kindly advise Adam [a senior colleague] that on that day I skipped breakfast and only had 1 coffee in the morning. For lunch I had 1 sandwich with a drink and 1 coffee in the restaurant, and took another coffee back to the office with me and had the second sandwich in the afternoon… which also served as my dinner.”
The senior colleague said that accounted for one day, but it appeared additional food and drink had been claimed on two other days. Fekete replied: “All my expenses are within the €100 daily allowance. Could you please outline what your concern is as I don’t think I have to justify my eating habits to this extent… As previously confirmed these are all my expenses and I have no one to add to them.”
The senior banker's concerns were sent to Citi's ethics office and it was investigated. In an interview on August 19, Fekete was asked if he had shared a meal of pasta pesto and a bolognaise with his partner and he said he had not, according to details in the ruling. On 22 August, Fekete then said there had been an overlap between his personal card and the company card and some of the items claimed had been consumed by his partner.
The investigation ruled that Fekete had breached Citi's expense policy and by maintaining he had consumed all the meals his actions may be deemed gross misconduct. A disciplinary committee decided on November 30 he should be dismissed.
"It is the respondent’s (Citigroup's) position that this is not about the amount of money, but about the honesty of the claimant in answering the questions as he did, not just once but on multiple occasions and that he failed to accept responsibility for his actions," the judge said in the ruling.
Fekete started working at Citigroup in July 2015 and at the time of his dismissal he was a senior analyst for EMEA regulatory exam management and oversight. Just before his dismissal he was told his application for promotion to financial crime risk manager had been successful and would take effect at the start of January 2023. The Financial Times, which first reported the ruling, said Fekete did not respond to a request for comment.