Crispin Odey tried to ‘manipulate’ sexual assault victim, FCA tells court
The financial watchdog has accused the former hedge fund manager Crispin Odey of attempting to “manipulate” a victim of sexual assault into silence.Odey texted his former employee, whose breasts he had groped, a warning in 2022 that the Financial Conduct Authority could question her about him.He said the regulator was “using” her to further its “vendetta” against him and his hedge fund, Odey Asset Management (OAM).The 67-year-old has previously accepted that he groped the woman without her consent in 2005, which he said happened while he was under the influence of sedatives after a root canal treatment.Odey, who faces a number of sexual harassment allegations, sent the woman a text in January 2022 saying the regulator would use her “to show that there were no controls and you were in fear of my position in the company which stopped you from speaking out”, according to evidence provided by the FCA at a court hearing on Wednesday.
“I’m truly sorry for embarrassing you so long ago but I do not think that it is reason enough to close down OAM and call me unfit and improper,” he wrote in the text, signing off as “Cx”,Clare Sibson, the FCA’s lawyer, said the former employee had left the firm in 2015 and may not have been aware of the regulator’s interest in her until Odey’s text,She asked Odey during his cross-examination: “Can you imagine what it might feel like for the victim of an historic sexual assault to be told by her assailant that a statutory authority was investigating the man who victimised her?”She added that Odey had been “trying to manipulate this victim into silence” and had “very good reason to discourage” her from providing her account to the FCA,Odey said he had wanted to make sure the woman would “tell the truth”,He was appearing as part of a three-week court case that he hopes will overturn the City regulator’s decision to ban him from the UK’s financial services industry.
“This was a very serious incident, but it was looked at and it was judged, and it was clear to her, and she stayed for another eight years, and she was a friend of the firm,” he said,“I was merely saying to her … I’m giving you a warning that you may be approached, because I don’t know how broad or wide the investigation is,”Odey said in his witness statement that believed he became “a poster boy for the authority’s agenda” and was the victim of “a campaign by the authority to achieve my removal”,The FCA has claimed he showed a “lack of integrity” by deliberately attempting to frustrate an investigation by his own hedge fund into allegations of sexual harassment, which he denies,Odey has since launched a £79m libel lawsuit against the Financial Times, saying he suffered “very significant financial loss” because of articles alleging he had sexually assaulted or harassed multiple women.
The allegations, which emerged in the media in summer 2023, eventually led to him being removed from OAM, which announced plans to close in October that year,Odey is also facing civil personal injury claims by five women, including one who accused him of rape, which he also denies,Those cases are scheduled to be heard together in joint proceedings in June,The hearing continues,
Crispin Odey tried to ‘manipulate’ sexual assault victim, FCA tells court
The financial watchdog has accused the former hedge fund manager Crispin Odey of attempting to “manipulate” a victim of sexual assault into silence.Odey texted his former employee, whose breasts he had groped, a warning in 2022 that the Financial Conduct Authority could question her about him.He said the regulator was “using” her to further its “vendetta” against him and his hedge fund, Odey Asset Management (OAM).The 67-year-old has previously accepted that he groped the woman without her consent in 2005, which he said happened while he was under the influence of sedatives after a root canal treatment.Odey, who faces a number of sexual harassment allegations, sent the woman a text in January 2022 saying the regulator would use her “to show that there were no controls and you were in fear of my position in the company which stopped you from speaking out”, according to evidence provided by the FCA at a court hearing on Wednesday
Iran war threatens to delay large offshore wind projects in EU and UK
A string of large offshore wind projects in Europe are facing potential delays as the Iran war threatens to disrupt shipping of crucial parts manufactured in the Gulf.Industry sources are concerned that components ordered from suppliers in the United Arab Emirates could become trapped if shipping remains effectively blocked through the strait of Hormuz.Iran’s chokehold on the crucial trade route has upended oil and gas deliveries from the Middle East. Sources fear contingency plans may have to be put into action to avoid delays to clean energy projects too.These include two giant offshore windfarms planned for UK waters, as well as a series of projects that will supply offshore wind power to Germany and the Netherlands
ECB could raise eurozone rates ‘as soon as next month’; oil price dips on peace talk hopes – as it happened
Good morning, and welcome to our rolling coverage of business, the financial markets and the world economy.Inflation in the UK was unchanged last month, as expected – before the Iran war drove up global energy costs, threatening a renewed price jump.Official figures showed the consumer prices index (CPI) stayed at an annual rate of 3% in February, the same as in January. Economists had expected it to stay at 3%.Clothing made the largest upward contribution to the monthly change while motor fuels made the largest, offsetting downward contribution, the Office for National Statistics said
Europe could face fuel shortage by April as Iran throttles supplies, says Shell boss
Europe could face a shortage of energy and fuel as soon as next month without a reopening of the strait of Hormuz, Shell’s chief executive has said.The boss of Europe’s biggest oil company said it was working with governments to help them address the oil and gas supply crisis, which has already led to energy rationing in Asian countries.Oil prices dipped back to about $100 a barrel on Wednesday from highs of about $114 at the start of the week, on the back of reports that the White House had sent a 15-point peace plan to Iran’s leaders.However, without a return of crude deliveries from the Gulf to global buyers via the crucial Hormuz channel, Europe could face shortages of fossil fuels within weeks, according to Wael Sawan.The Shell chief executive told an oil industry conference in Texas: “South Asia was first to get that brunt
Estate of Mike Lynch ordered to pay £920m to Hewlett Packard Enterprise
The estate of the late British tech tycoon Mike Lynch has been ordered to pay £920m to the technology company Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) two years after he died in a superyacht disaster.The ruling by London’s high court said the estate was liable to pay the sum as compensation, costs and interest for the acquisition of Lynch’s firm Autonomy by Hewlett-Packard (HP), after a UK legal ruling in 2022 that he duped the US company into paying £8.2bn for the software firm.HP split into two separate companies in 2015 – one still called HP, which focuses on printers and PCs, and the software and hardware company HPE.The deceased entrepreneur’s estate has been estimated to be worth about £500m, so the damages could leave it bankrupt
UK pet owners: we would like to hear about your experience of vet bills
The UK’s competition watchdog has ordered vets to cap prescription fees at £21 and proposed a cost-comparison website.The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said public satisfaction with the cost of services was “low” after a two-and-a-half-year investigation that found “there is not strong competition between veterinary businesses”.It said vets must now tell pet owners that medicines may be cheaper online, and let them know they can get a prescription and that this could save them money.We would like to hear from UK pet owners about their experience of vet bills. Did your vet bill come as a surprise, or was it as expected? How did you manage the cost? Tell us
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