The FCA has issued a warning notice that it is preparing to take action against high profile fund manager Crispin Odey for demonstrating a "lack of integrity."

The regulator said that his actions between 24 December 2021 and 17 November 2022 lacked integrity.

Last year 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.

Separately, the FT reported allegations that Odey AM had been under investigation by the FCA for two years over a number of issues, including suggestions that Mr Odey behaved inappropriately towards 13 women over a 25 year period.

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.

The FCA warning notice was issued on 18 September but not made public until today. The warning notice proposes to take action in connection with Mr Odey’s conduct specified in the notice. The FCA has pointed out that a warning notice is not a final decision and the Regulatory Decisions Committee will make a decision on appropriate action.

In the notice, the FCA said that it considers that during the period from 24 December 2021 to 17 November 2022 Mr Odey, a certification employee at Odey Asset Management LLP and, at times during this period, holding Senior Management Functions, breached Individual Conduct Rule 1 of the FCA’s Code of Conduct which required him to act with integrity.

In February 2021, OAM gave Mr Odey a Final Written Warning in relation to alleged inappropriate behaviour. In late 2021, OAM scheduled a disciplinary hearing to consider whether Mr Odey had breached the Final Written Warning, the FCA said.

Mr Odey was due to attend the disciplinary hearing on 6 January 2022 but on 24 December 2021 he used his majority shareholding in OAM to remove the existing members of OAM’s Executive Committee and appoint himself as its sole member. On 6 January 2022, at an ExCo meeting for which he was the sole member, Mr Odey decided that the disciplinary hearing into his conduct would be indefinitely postponed since he said he was unable to conduct it with impartiality, according to the notice.

The FCA says it considers that during the relevant period Mr Odey demonstrated a “lack of integrity” in that his actions:

• Were deliberately designed to frustrate OAM’s ongoing disciplinary process into his conduct, in order to protect his own interests; and
• Showed a reckless disregard for OAM’s governance and caused OAM to breach certain regulatory requirements.

In addition, the watchdog alleges that Mr Odey’s behaviour towards both OAM and the FCA lacked candour. He used “improper means” to protect his own interests and achieve his objectives, the FCA alleged.