Yahoo Finance Hedge fund star Crispin Odey charged over 'sex assault'
Crispin Odey, one of Britain’s most high profile hedge fund bosses, has been charged with indecently assaulting a woman more than two decades ago.
The Brexit donor, who founded and runs Odey Asset Management and has an estimated wealth of £825m, was charged over an attack alleged to have taken place in Chelsea in 1998.
The attack is alleged to have happened at Swan Walk in west London, where Odey owns a home and several of his businesses are registered, the Evening Standard reported.
Mr Odey said: “The allegation is denied and I will strongly contest this matter.”
The case was due to come before Westminster magistrates’ court next week but has been postponed until 28 Sept due to a backlog of hearings created by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Mr Odey, 61, has been charged under the Sexual Offences Act 1956 with a single offence alleged to have occurred in July 1998, the Crown Prosecution Service said. He is charged with “indecently assaulting a woman over the age of 16”, the Standard reported.
The financier and former son-in-law of Rupert Murdoch founded his hedge fund in 1991 and made huge profits by betting against banks before the financial crisis.
A £150,000 henhouse built on his Gloucestershire estate was dubbed “Cluckingham Palace” and became a symbol of corporate excess.
The Tory supporter made a reported £115m by predicting the FTSE 100 would crash in value as a result of Covid-19.
He was accused by former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn of being a "greedy banker" in a campaign speech before last year's general election.
At the time Mr Odey responded: "He just doesn't know many people. He has lived a narrow life."
City institutions are under pressure to do away with a male-dominated, sexist culture in the wake of the Me Too movement, which put a spotlight on gender inequality and the prevalence of sexual assault both at work and in wider society.
