LONDON, Sept 14 (Reuters) – Hedge fund manager Crispin
Odey on Monday lost his appeal against an industry ban for
hampering an internal disciplinary investigation into
allegations of sexual harassment against him, though his £1.8
million ($2.43 million) fine was trimmed.
Odey, who founded Odey Asset Management in 1991, shot to
prominence during the 2008 financial crisis after making a
fortune short-selling bank shares. He was also a leading backer
of Brexit and a donor to the Conservative Party.
Britain’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) last year said
it would fine and ban Odey for a lack of integrity in relation
to how his now-defunct firm OAM investigated complaints of
sexual harassment made against him by female staff.
The FCA said Odey deliberately frustrated his fund’s
disciplinary process by twice dismissing the members of its
executive committee, in 2021 and 2022, when it was investigating
allegations of sexual misconduct.
Odey, however, said he was trying to protect OAM, which
“faced an existential crisis”.
He gave evidence in March and generally defended his
conduct, though he did admit that on one occasion he had
apologised to a woman he groped shortly after having an
anaesthetic.
London’s Upper Tribunal rejected his appeal against the
industry ban and reduced the FCA’s £1.835 million fine to just
under £1.53 million.