Odey appeals FCA ban and fine over his response to sexual harrassment claims

An FCA decision notice to fine Crispin Odey £1.8 million and ban him from the sector followed a sequence of events at Odey Asset Management LLP (OAM) in which he twice removed members of the executive committee, threatened personal litigation against them, told them "HR law did not matter here" and refused to co-operate with a proposed safeguarding plan (to protect female employees) that had been suggested by the compliance officer and executive committee members.

By Neasa MacErlean

The hedge fund manager has now appealed the decision to the Upper Tribunal. Mr Odey was able to take some of these steps because he was the ultimate majority shareholder of OAM in the relevant period of the 11 months to November 2022. The firm managed assets valued on average just under £3 billion. The management disputes at OAM began after allegations of sexual harassment were made by two female employees, and the ensuing internal investigation discovered one allegation of sexual assault along with "numerous" others of sexual harassment, dating back to 2003. Mr Odey is linked on the Financial Conduct Authority Register to eight organisations in total, including OAM which is based at London's Marble Arch. However, OAM is now in the process of winding down.