Private banker Nathalie Dauriac has told the high court she became scared of her former mentor and business partner John Caudwell, accusing the Phones4U billionaire of bullying her during an investigation into her expenses.
Speaking in court on Wednesday, Dauriac said Caudwell sought to intimidate her by making claims about wrongdoing as a pretext to force her out of Signia Wealth, the business they co-founded before their close relationship soured.
She said Caudwell considered her his servant and indicated that his alleged treatment of her may have been because she was a woman interfering with his “personal fiefdom”.
The case pits Caudwell against his former protege, who was fired from Signia Wealth after he accused her of making £33,000 in improper expenses claims.
Dauriac has accused Caudwell of orchestrating a conspiracy in order to oust her as chief executive, allowing him to acquire her 49% stake for £2 and depriving her of at least £12m.
Both parties deny the allegations made against them.
Monica Carss-Frisk QC, for Signia, referred to Dauriac’s expense claims for flights to visit Caudwell overseas, including at his ski lodge in Vail, Colorado, and a yacht in Nice.
She said the Vail trip was plainly a personal visit, pointing to an invitation sent to Dauriac from the Caudwells to their “wonderful friends”.
While Dauriac admitted a close friendship with Caudwell, who was godfather to her daughter and has said that he loved her, she insisted the trip was “part of my job” as a private banker fostering good relations.
Although she later wrote an apology letter to Caudwell, offering to reimburse £26,000 of expenses, Dauriac told the court this was “window dressing” designed to prevent him doing harm to Signia.
According to Dauriac, she sent the letter after Caudwell ordered her to sign a confession or he would put the company into liquidation and call the police.
She claimed Caudwell ordered the investigation into her only after she raised concerns about possible VAT fraud involving Caudwell and his right-hand man David Canfield.
She said her former friend had a reputation for “screwing” people out of their shares by using expenses claims as a pretext to get rid of them.
“When it became clear to Mr Caudwell that not only had I created a successful business, but he could no longer manipulate me or the business as if it was his private fiefdom, he had to get rid of me by any means possible, which he did.”
The French banker also said she became scared of Caudwell, who she said hired a private investigator through now defunct public relations firm Bell Pottinger to “dig up dirt” about her.
She “had the feeling of being followed” and hired a security consultant, who she said discovered a bug under her car and that her emails had been hacked.
Referring to their negotiations when setting up the business in 2009, Dauriac said Caudwell asked her to undertake not to have any more children and to agree to limit the funds due to her estate from the company if she died.
Caudwell told the court on Monday that Dauriac was “the most amazing liar I have ever met”.
Earlier on Wednesday, the court heard claims from David Hayes, the former executive director of Signia Wealth, that Dauriac was rude to staff but became gushing around Caudwell and boasted that she could influence him “by becoming emotional and crying”.
Hayes levelled accusations against Dauriac including that she was “taking the piss” with expenses and created a facade that made the company’s performance appear better than it was.
He also said Dauriac claimed to be personally investing alongside clients when she was not and that she massaged the numbers of a client’s portfolio to make it look more successful.
The case continues.
