The UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has issued a decision notice to fine and ban Crispin Odey, the founder of Odey Asset Management, from the UK financial services industry for “a lack of integrity”, stating his conduct makes him unfit to perform regulated activities.
The regulator has decided to impose a £1.8 million fine and a prohibition order on Odey following its investigation. However, Odey has referred the decision notice to the Upper Tribunal, where both parties will present their cases. As such, the FCA emphasised that its findings are provisional and reflect its current view of what occurred.
The Financial Times claimed that it had spoken to “13 women who said they had been abused by Odey” and a further six had made allegations that he “sexually assaulted or harassed them”.
According to FCA’s statement, Odey “deliberately sought to frustrate” OAM’s disciplinary processes, following internal investigations into his conduct, in an attempt to protect his interests. The FCA also found that his behaviour showed “reckless disregard” for OAM’s governance, causing the firm to breach regulatory requirements.
The FCA also stated that Odey lacked candour in his dealings with both OAM and the FCA, leading to the conclusion that “he is not a fit and proper person to perform any regulated function.”
The disciplinary process stems from events beginning in February 2021, when OAM issued a Final Written Warning to Odey for inappropriate behaviour. A follow-up disciplinary hearing, scheduled for November 2021 to examine whether he had breached that warning, was indefinitely postponed after Odey used his majority shareholding to remove OAM’s Executive Committee (ExCo) and appoint himself as its sole member on December 24, 2021.
On January 6, 2022, Odey decided that the disciplinary hearing would be postponed indefinitely, citing his inability to conduct it impartially. Although he subsequently appointed new ExCo members and resigned as sole member on January 12, 2022, a disagreement over how to proceed led Odey to again remove ExCo members and reinstate himself as sole member on March 31, 2022. He remained in control until July 4, 2022, when he appointed two new ExCo members. The delayed disciplinary hearing eventually took place on November 29, 2022, nearly a year after its original scheduling.
Therese Chambers, joint executive director of enforcement and market oversight at the FCA, commented: “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.”
OAM’s press office has not responded to our request for comment on the FCA’s notice at the time of publication.
