Crispin Odey has been fined £1.8 million by the UK financial watchdog, which says it has decided to ban him from the UK financial services industry.
The fund manager "deliberately sought to frustrate" the disciplinary processes over allegations of sexual harassment at Odey Asset Management (OAM) "to protect his own interests", the Financial Conduct Authority said.
The FCA said Odey "showed reckless disregard for OAM’s governance, causing OAM to breach certain regulatory requirements", adding that it considers his conduct "demonstrated that he is not a fit and proper person to perform any function related to regulated activities".
Odey has referred the decision to the high court, so these findings are provisional.
The regulator said Odey used his majority stake in OAM, which he founded in 1991, to remove the existing members of its executive committee weeks before he was due to appear for a disciplinary hearing in January 2022.
Having appointed himself the exco’s sole member, he decided the disciplinary hearing into his conduct would be indefinitely postponed since he said he was unable to conduct it with impartiality, the FCA said, before appointing new members to the exco, then disbanding it again after a disagreement and eventually appointing members who held a disciplinary hearing in late 2022.
Therese Chambers, joint executive director of enforcement and market oversight at the FCA said: "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."
Odey has denied the allegations and is suing the FT for libel.