The upper tribunal has upheld a lifetime ban imposed by the Financial Conduct Authority against Crispin Odey, a former hedge fund chief and Conservative party donor. The tribunal also reduced a proposed fine from £1.83 million to £1.53 million in its ruling.
Odey faced the prohibition after an internal investigation at Odey Asset Management uncovered numerous sexual harassment allegations from female staff members. The investigation began in September 2020, but the allegations were not publicly reported until summer 2023 by the Financial Times. Odey subsequently resigned in 2023 following the media coverage.
The tribunal found that between December 2021 and November 2022, Odey demonstrated a lack of integrity by attempting to obstruct the company’s response to the harassment allegations. According to the ruling, he misused his authority as controller by twice terminating the entire executive committee as a means to protect his interests and prevent executives from taking action on the harassment claims.
During the appeal hearing held in March, Odey made several controversial statements regarding the allegations. He attributed one 2005 incident to the effects of sedatives taken after dental treatment and claimed the involved party had accepted his apology and continued employment at the company. Regarding another allegation, he stated he did not recall the specific incident in question. The tribunal noted that Odey displayed no contrition and believed he was being treated unfairly rather than acknowledging potential harm caused by his conduct.
OAM ceased trading several months after the allegations became public. The FCA’s enforcement director characterized Odey’s actions as demonstrating entitlement and disregard for governance standards, stating he had shown contempt for the rules and acted to protect himself rather than uphold proper institutional conduct.
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