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A woman has accused Crispin Odey of rape in a civil court filing, the latest alleged victim to come forward with what is the most serious accusation to be levelled at the financier.
The previously unreported allegation came to light during a procedural hearing at the High Court on Thursday afternoon.
The hearing was the first time Odey’s alleged sexual misconduct had been discussed in the civil courts since the Financial Times reported allegations last year that he had sexually assaulted or harassed 20 women. Those allegations related to instances spanning a period of five decades.
The rape accusation is the most extreme allegation made against Odey, and was not part of the FT’s report.
Odey was not present in court and did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the allegation of rape. His lawyers declined to comment.
In the hearing on Thursday, lawyers for Odey’s alleged victims had applied for additional women to join an existing claim against him and his eponymous firm. However, a judge ruled that all five women would have to submit separate claims.
The first and second claimants alleged that Odey’s “modus operandi was to assault women over whom he had power under the guise of helping them” or “discussing matters of business”, according to a skeleton argument prepared for the hearing.
They claimed that the abuse they suffered was “consistent with his pattern of behaviour with other victims”, which included “luring women to his home on false pretences and emerging unexpectedly in a dressing gown”.
The judge rejected the application — which Odey’s lawyers had opposed — as she said there was insufficient commonality for the claimants to all be on one form.
In skeleton arguments prepared for the hearing, Odey’s lawyers said that “to date [Odey] has not received any documents related to” the woman who is alleging rape, save for a letter of claim.
A case management hearing, which will establish a timetable for the case to go to trial, is expected to take place after May 7. It remains to be established whether the women’s claims will be heard in the same or separate trials.
Claire Glasgow, a lawyer at Fieldfisher, is leading the lawsuit over alleged personal injury. The original claim estimated damages at £300,000.
The claim is being overseen by Jill Greenfield, a partner at Fieldfisher who has previously represented victims of the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein.
Last year, the FT reported allegations of sexual assault and harassment against Odey from 20 women, including 13 employees of his eponymous firm Odey Asset Management. The accusations, which spanned a period of five decades from 1985 to 2021, led to a swift fall from grace for one of the City of London’s best known financiers and one of its oldest hedge fund firms.
Odey, who remains under investigation by the UK financial regulator, was swiftly removed from the business following the report, while key banking partners and clients cut ties. In October last year, Odey Asset Management announced it was closing.
Lawyers for Odey said last year that the hedge fund manager “strenuously disputed” the first 13 women’s allegations reported by the FT. An additional six women then came forward with a second set of similar allegations, which the financier did not respond to a request for comment on.
When the FT reported allegations from one further woman, Odey admitted that he did “grab” the woman’s breasts but said his actions were an “aberration” and attributed them to the effects of anaesthetic he had been given that day at the dentist.
For the High Court proceedings, Odey Asset Management is represented by lawyers at Charles Russell Speechlys. Odey Asset Management is accused by the third claimant of failing to take reasonable steps to minimise the risk Odey posed. Odey Asset Management has previously said it “has, at all times, complied with all of its legal and regulatory obligations”.
Lawyers for Odey Asset Management also opposed the application to join the alleged victims’ claims together in a skeleton argument prepared for Thursday’s hearing.
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