Crispin Odey drops £79m libel claim against FT over sexual misconduct allegations

Odey abandons £79m libel suit against Financial Times, with lawyers conceding the paper's public interest defence was likely to prevail. | Contesto: cronaca

Punti chiave

• Crispin Odey drops £79m libel claim against FT over sexual misconduct allegations

Contesto

Crispin Odey, the founder of the now-defunct Odey Asset Management, has formally withdrawn his high-profile £79 million libel claim against the Financial Times. The lawsuit was a direct response to the newspaper's 2023 investigation, which detailed sexual misconduct allegations from 20 women against the financier spanning five decades. In a statement, Odey's legal team said he was "forced to accept" that the FT was likely to succeed with a public interest defence, a significant concession that effectively ends his attempt to legally challenge the publication's reporting. The decision to drop the claim marks a pivotal moment in a saga that has rocked the City of London and the hedge fund industry. The FT's original reporting, based on extensive interviews and allegations of assault and harassment occurring from the 1990s to 2021, triggered immediate and severe consequences for Odey's business and reputation. Within days of the publication, major financial institutions began severing ties with Odey Asset Management, forcing a frantic wind-down of the fund group he had built over three decades. The swift collapse of his firm underscored the profound reputational damage inflicted by the allegations. Odey has consistently denied all allegations against him. The libel lawsuit, filed in the High Court, was positioned as his primary vehicle for clearing his name and challenging the veracity of the accounts published. The claim sought substantial damages for what his legal team argued was defamatory reporting. However, the withdrawal suggests a strategic calculation that the legal battle was untenable, particularly against the robust defence of public interest—a key tenet of UK media law that protects journalism on matters of legitimate public concern when conducted responsibly. The implications of this legal retreat extend beyond the immediate parties. For the Financial Times and investigative journalism more broadly, the outcome is seen as a vindication. It reinforces the principle that rigorous reporting on powerful figures, especially concerning serious allegations of systemic misconduct, is protected when undertaken in the public interest. Media lawyers note that...

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Categoria: cronaca