Crispin Odey, the former hedge fund manager, has withdrawn his £79 million libel lawsuit against the Financial Times concerning its coverage of sexual misconduct allegations against him, according to statements from his legal representatives.
In 2023, the Financial Times published a series of articles featuring testimonies from 20 women who accused Odey of sexual assault and harassment spanning five decades. Odey has consistently denied these allegations.
On Friday, Odey’s attorneys indicated that he had reluctantly acknowledged the likelihood of the newspaper prevailing in its defense based on public interest. A letter from his legal team noted, “After experiencing the immense stress of a three-week trial in the Upper Tribunal, he prefers not to engage in another protracted legal battle at significant expense, especially when faced with the possibility of losing on the public interest argument, even if he believes he could successfully demonstrate that he is not the violent predator depicted in the articles.”
This decision to abandon his libel claim comes after a three-week trial in which he contested the Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) ruling to bar him from the financial services sector. The proceedings at the Upper Tribunal in London, overseen by Mr. Justice Thompsell and Judges Jones and Farquharson, are set to resume in May for closing arguments from both sides.
Odey initiated the libel lawsuit in May 2024, claiming significant financial damages due to the articles. The allegations, which surfaced in 2023, resulted in his dismissal from Odey Asset Management, a firm he founded in 1991 that had grown to be one of Europe’s largest hedge fund companies. The company announced its plans to shut down in October of that year.
In its defense, the Financial Times presented the testimonies of 15 women who were prepared to testify in support of the newspaper’s reporting. FT Editor Roula Khalaf stated, “This serves as a vindication for investigative journalism and for the victims whose accounts of abuse we have reported. The Financial Times was always confident in the accuracy of its reporting. This lawsuit should have never been initiated.”
In March 2025, Odey faced a provisional ban from the financial services industry and was fined £1.8 million by the UK regulator due to a “lack of integrity.” At that time, the FCA accused him of attempting to obstruct a disciplinary investigation into the allegations of sexual harassment, asserting that his actions demonstrated he was “not a fit and proper person” to hold any professional position in the sector.
