Two months ago, when the world was feverishly following every twist of the growing Harvey Weinstein sexual abuse scandal, we predicted that it was only a matter of time before the it hit Wall Street front and center, where some of the stories heard in recent years would make even Harvey blush.
Today, that scandal hit home for two Bank of America staffers who were fired by the bank for not sufficiently disclosing information related to allegations against a prime brokerage executive who left last month following a complaint of inappropriate sexual conduct.
According to Bloomberg, Joe Voboril and Valerie Ludorf worked under Omeed Malik at the bank’s prime brokerage unit. Malik left the firm in January, a month after a woman in her 20s claimed that he had made unwanted advances.
Omid Malik,38, left the bank after a roughly three-week inquiry, which included interviews with other staff, turned up additional concerns, a person with knowledge of the situation said last month.
On Wall Street, Malik was known as a charismatic figure with close ties to the hedge fund world.
His renown grew in part because of his attendance at prominent hedge fund conferences. He also threw splashy parties, including a birthday party for himself that featured a number of celebrities — photos of which were posted online by several well-known celebrity photographers.
This is how the NYT reported his departure one month ago:
A senior executive at Bank of America in New York departed last week after an internal investigation into a young female banker’s accusation of inappropriate sexual conduct, according to people at the bank who were briefed on the investigation.
The executive, Omeed Malik, 38, was a powerful figure in the hedge fund world. He was a managing director and helped run the prime brokerage business that raises money for hedge funds.
Among his roles, Malik was an adviser to Jon S. Corzine, the former New Jersey governor and United States senator, as Mr. Corzine started a hedge fund, and he was a speaker at a high-profile hedge fund conference organized by Anthony Scaramucci.
Malik, a former lawyer at Weil Gotshal & Manges, a prominent New York firm, also was a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.
Malik’s close ties to Corzine were forged while Malik worked at MF Global, the big commodities trading firm that collapsed in bankruptcy under Corzine’s leadership. Last year, Corzine sought to return to Wall Street with a hedge fund that Malik helped promote.
The young woman, who is employed by Bank of America as an analyst, complained about Malik in January, the NYT reported. The bank then opened an investigation. Officials from human resources interviewed as many as a dozen people who have worked with Mr. Malik. He left roughly two weeks before annual bonuses were to be handed out.
“Joe fully cooperated with the investigation and did all that was asked of him. He was fully forthright and the firm never told him that he failed to disclose information or cover anything up,” said Kim Michael, a partner at Wechsler & Cohen LLP and counsel for Voboril. “We believe the real reason he was terminated was part of Bank of America’s attempt to discredit anyone whose truthful answers didn’t fit into the bank’s narrative about Omeed.”
Allegations of sexual harassment and discrimination have cropped up at Bank of America in the past. Two years ago, it reached a settlement with a female managing director in its fixed income group who had filed a lawsuit claiming the bank fostered a “bros’ club” culture, mistreated female employees and paid them less than men in comparable jobs. The terms of that settlement were not disclosed.
via Zero Hedge http://ift.tt/2FbCGfn Tyler Durden