Crispin Odey loses appeal against lifetime ban from UK financial services industry

The former hedge fund boss Crispin Odey has lost a legal challenge to overturn his lifetime ban from the City for trying to “frustrate” investigations into sexual harassment allegations against him.

A ruling by judges at the upper tribunal upheld the ban imposed by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in March last year, while reducing a proposed fine of £1.83m to £1.53m.

“We have found that Mr Odey lacked integrity,” the tribunal ruling said, referring to the Conservative party donor’s behaviour at Odey Asset Management (OAM) between December 2021 and November 2022.

“Mr Odey is not a fit and proper person and it is reasonable for the authority to have concluded that a prohibition order is appropriate.”

Numerous allegations against Odey by female members of staff came to light after OAM launched an internal investigation into sexual harassment at the business in September 2020.

Odey, who resigned in 2023 after the allegations were reported in the media, tried to block executives of his hedge fund from taking any action, including by twice firing its entire executive committee (ExCos).

“He misused his power as controller to remove the ExCos as a means to protect his own interests and attempt to achieve his objectives,” the tribunal ruling said.

The judges also said the Brexit-backing hedge fund chief failed to acknowledge any potential harm during a three-week appeal hearing in March. “He has expressed no contrition,” they added. “He sees nothing wrong with his approach, and indeed he wrongly sees himself as the victim.”

The hearing involved a series of controversial admissions, including Odey blaming an incident in 2005 when he was alleged to have groped a colleague’s breasts on the effect of sedatives he had taken after root canal treatment. He said the woman had accepted his apology and continued to work for the firm for another eight years.

He also told the appeal judges he did not remember cornering a female employee after a boozy lunch and saying to her “I could attack you now”.

The allegations against Odey were first reported by the Financial Times in summer 2023. OAM ceased trading months later.

Commenting on the ruling, the FCA’s executive director for enforcement and market oversight, Therese Chambers, said: “Mr Odey clearly thought he could act with impunity. He twice sacked those tasked with protecting female employees from his inappropriate behaviour when they tried to hold him to account. He felt the rules shouldn’t apply to him and acted to save his own skin.

“During the hearing he reinvented history, painted himself as a victim and displayed no contrition. That arrogant entitlement and the resulting complete disregard for proper governance means Mr Odey is unfit to work in financial services.”