Odey's overreach tested accountability at own firm

When the executive committee of Odey Asset Management sought to conduct a disciplinary process against the founder and owner, he wasn't having a bar of it. Denis O'Connor explores the events that led to a clash between a colourful industry figure and the regulator's interpretation of its conduct rules.

Denis O'Connor is a fellow of both the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England & Wales and the Chartered Institute of Securities and Investment. He was a member of the British Bankers' Association Money Laundering Committee from 2003-10 and a member of the Joint Money Laundering Steering Group's board and editorial panel between 2010 and 2016. He has been a frequent speaker at industry conferences on financial crime issues, both in the United Kingdom and abroad.

The Financial Conduct Authority has provisionally fined Crispin Odey £1.835 million and banned him from the financial services industry for a lack of integrity. Odey, who protests his innocence, has elected to refer the FCA's decision to the Upper Tribunal, which will arbitrate on the matter. [1]