LONDON, March 24 - Crispin Odey, the founder of Odey Asset Management, told an Upper Tribunal hearing that he was not someone who could not "control himself" around female employees as he contested the Financial Conduct Authority’s plan to impose an industry ban and fine.
Odey, who established his firm in 1991 and rose to wider public attention during the 2008 financial crisis after making substantial gains from short positions in bank shares, has also been known as a supporter of Brexit and a donor to the Conservative Party. The FCA announced last year that it intends to penalise and bar him from the British financial services industry for what it described as a lack of integrity in relation to how his now-defunct firm investigated allegations of sexual harassment.
The case currently before the Upper Tribunal forms part of Odey’s appeal against the regulator’s proposed sanction, which would prevent him from working in the sector.
Dispute over handling of disciplinary procedures
The FCA has argued that Odey deliberately frustrated his fund's disciplinary process by dismissing members of its executive committee on two occasions, in 2021 and 2022. Regulators say those actions impeded proper investigations into allegations of misconduct.
Odey told the tribunal he had taken those steps because he believed he was acting to protect Odey Asset Management, which he said "faced an existential crisis" at the time. He framed his actions as measures intended to safeguard the firm rather than to obstruct internal discipline.
Testimony on personal conduct
While giving evidence, Odey expressed that he felt "deeply embarrassed" about a specific incident in which he admitted to groping a member of staff. He accepted in his witness statement that he had been "something of a dinosaur" but broadly defended his overall behaviour, saying he never knowingly made women uncomfortable. He added that after a disciplinary hearing he had reflected on his conduct and "developed insight," recognising that "it was not appropriate that I should be trying to chat up" younger staff members.
Questioning addressed several allegations brought by women who worked at OAM, including an episode in 2005 when Odey gave a woman a shoulder massage and subsequently touched her breasts. Odey, now 67 years old, told the tribunal he attributed that episode in part to a sedative administered for a dental procedure earlier that day. He later told the FCA he distanced himself from the woman in question.
The FCA's lawyer, Claire Sibson, suggested the distancing reflected an inability on Odey’s part to "control yourself." Odey replied: "No, this was 2005, we are now (in) 2026." He said he had apologised to the woman the following day and that she remained employed at OAM for nearly another decade.
Legal timetable and related proceedings
Tuesday's appearance is the first of two scheduled witness sessions this year, ahead of a joint trial due to begin in June. That trial will consider Odey’s libel suit against the Financial Times together with personal injury actions brought against him by five women; a lawyer representing those women was present in court during Tuesday’s hearing.
Odey was previously charged in 2020 with sexually assaulting a woman in 1998; he was acquitted of that charge in 2021.
Summary
Crispin Odey appeared at London’s Upper Tribunal to challenge the Financial Conduct Authority’s proposed fine and industry ban. He denied claims he could not control himself around female staff, acknowledged embarrassment over certain incidents and defended his actions in relation to internal disciplinary procedures, which the FCA says he deliberately impeded. The tribunal appearances are part of a wider set of legal proceedings, including a joint trial scheduled for June that will address libel and personal injury claims.