Hedge fund manager Crispin Odey has been fined £1.8 million and banned from the UK finance industry for a “lack of integrity,” over his handling of sexual harassment allegations levelled against him.
In a provisional decision released by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), they said Mr Odey “repeatedly sought to evade and obstruct efforts to hold him to account.”
The investment management and advisory firm founded by Mr Odey in 1991 made headlines for its large bets against the British economy, making hundreds and millions of pounds from the Brexit vote in 2016.
The FCA found that his firm Odey Asset Management (OAM) could not deal effectively with complaints of inappropriate conduct towards female members of staff because he continually threatened and intervened in the process.
Mr Odey has said he will challenge the FCA’s decision.
Mr Odey has been at the centre of sexual misconduct allegations after a report in the Financial Times (FT) newspaper uncovered claims from several women who had worked with him or known him.
The women claimed they had been abused or harassed by him, with some alleging he sexually assaulted them.
Mr Odey has previously denied the allegations against him, telling the FT they were “rubbish”.
In May, he sued the FT for libel seeking almost £80 million in damages.
On Monday, the watchdog said it had decided Mr Odey was not a fit and proper person to hold any role related to regulated finance activities.
Therese Chambers, the FCA’s director of enforcement and market oversight, said: “A culture of silence in which allegations of misconduct are not dealt with effectively can put consumers and markets at risk.
“Mr Odey repeatedly sought to evade and obstruct efforts to hold him to account.
“His lack of integrity means he deserves to be banned from the industry.”
Between 2021 and 2022, OAM tried to investigate inappropriate behaviour and discipline Mr Odey.
This incorporated numerous allegations of sexual harassment of female members of staff between 2003 and 2020, and an allegation of sexual assault in 2005.
It also looked into what it deemed inappropriate behaviour, including touching staff, taking unaccompanied female members of staff to lunch or on shopping trips, and messaging them outside of work.
But Mr Odey used his position as the majority shareholder of OAM to remove members of its executive committee and appoint himself as its sole member, meaning he could decide a disciplinary hearing into his conduct could be “indefinitely postponed”, the FCA found.
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This happened on two occasions, meaning the hearing was not held until a year after it had been originally scheduled.
The regulator said Mr Odey showed a “reckless disregard” for OAM’s governance and caused the company to breach rules in order to protect his own interests.
In March 2022, when Mr Odey appointed himself as the sole committee member for the second time, OAM managed around £2.8 billion worth of funds.
OAM is in the process of being wound down and is no longer authorised by the FCA, having filed for liquidation last year.
Mr Odey has referred the FCA’s decision to the Upper Tribunal which could decide to uphold or overrule the fine and City ban.
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