The Financial Conduct Authority has provisionally fined Crispin Odey of Odey Asset Management LLP (OAM) £1.8m and provisionally banned him from the financial services industry for a lack of integrity. 

Mr Odey has referred his Decision Notice to the Upper Tribunal where he and the FCA will present their cases.

The FCA said that any findings in the Decision Notice on Mr Odey published today are provisional and reflect the FCA’s judgment on what occurred and how it considers his behaviour should be characterised.  

The FCA said it considers that Mr Odey deliberately sought to frustrate OAM’s disciplinary processes into his conduct to protect his own interests.

It accused Mr Odey of "reckless disregard" for OAM’s governance, causing OAM to breach certain regulatory requirements.

In addition, the FCA said it considers that Mr Odey’s behaviour towards both OAM and the FCA lacked candour. The FCA said it considers Mr Odey’s conduct demonstrated that he is not a fit and proper person to perform any function related to regulated activities.  

On 4 February 2021, after an internal investigation by OAM, Mr Odey received a final written warning from OAM’s executive committee in relation to inappropriate behaviour. 

On 30 November 2021, OAM scheduled a disciplinary hearing to consider whether Mr Odey had breached the final written warning. However, on 24 December 2021 Mr Odey used his majority shareholding in OAM to remove OAM’s existing executive committee members and appoint himself as its sole member.

Mr Odey subsequently decided on 6 January 2022 that the disciplinary hearing into his conduct would be indefinitely postponed since he said he was unable to conduct it with impartiality. 

Mr Odey appointed new executive committee members and resigned from the committee on 12 January 2022. However, following disagreement about how to proceed with the disciplinary hearing, on 31 March 2022 Mr Odey again removed the members and appointed himself as the sole member.

Mr Odey retained his position on the committee until he appointed two new members on 4 July 2022. OAM’s disciplinary hearing was eventually held on 29 November 2022, nearly one year after it had been originally scheduled.

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."

In 2023 the firm Mr Odey founded, Odey Asset Management (OAM) - including subsidiaries Brook Asset Management and Odey Wealth, announced they were to close down following sex scandal accusations that engulfed its owner Crispin Odey.

In May 2020, Mr Odey was charged with indecent assault after a complaint by a woman over an alleged incident in 1998. Mr Odey, who denied the charge, was tried at Westminster Magistrates' Court in March 2021 and was cleared of the charge.