Crispin Odey: City watchdog in contact with police as scope of probe revealed | Business News

The Metropolis watchdog has confirmed it has been involved with police because it investigates whether or not scandal-hit hedge fund supervisor Crispin Odey is a “match and correct particular person” to work in monetary providers.

The Monetary Conduct Authority (FCA) chief government Nikhil Rathi mentioned the “match and correct” check fashioned a part of an investigation into Odey Asset Management (OAM) and its founder, which started in 2021.

Mr Rathi used a letter to the Treasury choose committee of MPs, forward of a parliamentary listening to later this month, to verify the FCA was additionally exploring allegations Mr Odey breached integrity guidelines in dismissing the agency’s government committee in 2021 for “an improper function”.

The watchdog can also be whether or not Mr Odey “did not adjust to the FCA’s conduct guidelines regarding integrity and performing with due ability, care and diligence”, Mr Rathi confirmed.

The FCA boss mentioned its contact with the police associated to allegations that have been “probably prison in nature”.

The letter was made public because the fund supervisor strenuously denies claims, made final month by the Monetary Instances and Tortoise Media, of historic sexual misconduct.

They reported a string of complaints by 13 girls relationship again over 25 years.

Mr Odey, who was cleared in 2021 of sexually assaulting a feminine banker in 1998, was ousted from his roles at OAM after the media allegations got here to mild.

The hedge fund has since been battling to include the fallout from the crisis, which included a deposit flight by clients, asset gross sales and a variety of its funds being offloaded to rivals in a bid to shore up the enterprise.

Mr Rathi mentioned within the letter that the FCA’s supervision of OAM had been “intensive”.

Its “match and correct” check is centred on points such an individual’s capacity to do a job actually and to guard customers, though it additionally considers elements resembling previous prison and civil proceedings.

People might be banned from working within the monetary providers trade if the FCA considers they don’t seem to be “match and correct”.