Two sacked ANZ employees have claimed that the lender encouraged an intolerant abusive culture within the premises.

The former employees, who were sacked allegedly because of violating the company code of conduct, are suing for $30 million. The bank planned to fight the claims following the submission of required documents in the federal court.

One of the sacked employees, Etienne Alexiou, told the court that he tried to bring the focus of investors and clients on what the bank was doing. He made the attempt thrice, he added. He stated that he was alleged of breaching the bank’s code of conduct, though he stood down for any kind of regulatory investigation at initial stage.

Patrick O’ Connor, another former employee, was terminated for running up an expense of $37,000, including his rent and medical payment. He purchased rare coins worth $18,000 along with bearing several other charges at hotels in Hong Kong and Sydney. He also alleged the company supported an inappropriate culture.

ANZ said on Thursday that both Alexiou and O'Connor were fired for breaching company’s conduct. “Mr O’Connor and Mr Alexiou’s claims are difficult to read for all of us at ANZ but common sense says their behaviours are not consistent with our code of conduct and cannot be tolerated,” ANZ’s chief risk officer Nigel Williams stated. Williams added that ANZ has already looked upon the inaccurate allegations and is ready to deal with the claims in the court.

The Australian Financial Review has reported that the men sued the bank independently and they asked for penalty separately in the Federal Court. They demanded tens of millions of dollars for the damages, lost pays and bonuses after being fired from the company.

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