Nikhil Rathi, the Financial Conduct Authority’s chief executive, told MPs yesterday that the regulator had been “one of the leaders globally in terms of saying non-financial misconduct is relevant to conduct in financial services”. Rathi was facing questions from the Treasury Committee on how it handled Odey Asset Management in light of reporting by Tortoise and others on multiple sexual harassment and assault allegations against its founder Crispin Odey, who denies wrongdoing. Following a public letter which gave limited details of the investigations into Odey and OAM, Rathi yesterday continued to stress the “limits” of what the regulator is able to do separately to criminal prosecution. Any widening of those limits is “a matter for government and parliament”, he said. Those changes may be coming: last Friday, the committee announced they would reopen an inquiry into sexism and misogyny in the City of London that will explore what role firms, government and the FCA should play in combating sexual misconduct.
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