Crispin Odey has lost his appeal against the FCA’s decision to ban him from the industry.
The regulator made five allegations against the founder and majority owner of Odey Asset Management (OAM) that were all fully upheld by the Tribunal, which agreed that each demonstrated his lack of integrity.
The Tribunal also upheld the allegations that Odey’s dealings with OAM, its clients, its investors and the FCA “lacked candour” and included threatening behaviour towards the FCA’s staff.
When faced with faced an internal disciplinary process for persistent inappropriate behaviour towards female employees, Odey bullied and threatened his executive directors, before dismissing OAM’s executive committee (ExCo) twice when they did not give in to his pressure.
“Mr Odey was only willing to answer to a governing body that would make a decision he agreed with, which was not to sack him. By removing them, he brought the internal disciplinary process to a halt,” the FCA said.
The Tribunal found that during the trial, Odey demonstrated a lack of insight into why his conduct lacked integrity, expressing no contrition for his behaviour and wrongly considering himself the victim.
Therese Chambers, executive director of enforcement and market oversight at the FCA 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.”
However, the Tribunal decided to reduce the FCA’s proposed fine of £1.83m to £1.53m.
