- By Mark Ashdown, Business and Thomas Mackintosh Correspondent in London
- BBC News
Crispin Odey, who founded Odey Asset Management in 1991, vehemently denies the allegations.
Partners at a prominent financial firm say its founder, Crispin Oddy, is leaving after accusations of sexual harassment.
The move comes on the heels of a Financial Times report that 13 women have accused Oddi of sexual harassment or assault over a 25-year period.
Audi strongly denies the allegations. He told the paper they were “nonsense” and hinted he could resist the move.
The hedge fund said it takes the allegations of misconduct “very seriously”.
For more than three decades, Audi has been at the helm of the hedge fund he founded in 1991 – at its peak, the company managed investments worth more than £10 billion.
Oddy, a prominent Brexiteer, claimed to have made hundreds of millions of pounds as the pound plunged in the aftermath of the referendum vote.
On Thursday, the Financial Times reported that the allegations date back to 1998 and that the last alleged incident was in December 2021.
Odey said this week that “none of these allegations have ever been made in a courtroom or investigation.”
Speaking to the Financial Times on Saturday, he also indicated that he may fight the company’s decision. “You must have [a] “A willing buyer and a willing seller,” he told the newspaper.
A statement issued by Audi Asset Management on Saturday said Audi will be leaving.
“As of today, he will not have any economic or personal role in the partnership,” she said.
Odey Asset Management Group Ltd will also cease to be a member and the partnership will now be owned and controlled by the remaining partners and will be managed as a separate legal entity.
The executive committee said the company’s policies and procedures were “followed at all times”.
“The company has been investigating allegations involving Mr. Oddy, but the company cannot comment in detail as it is bound by legal obligations of confidentiality.”
Odey Asset Management said it has been “fully transparent” with the FCA and will contact clients over the weekend.
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