Former Citigroup managing director Aldis Lindsay sparked outrage last year when he announced a complaint against the bank, alleging that he suffered from PTSD due to an abusive relationship with a senior colleague. A series of emails sent to Lindsay by her City MD ex-boyfriend Mani Singh, in which she claims they had a coercive and non-consensual relationship, appeared dangerously volatile. last week, bloomberg Subsequently, an article was published suggesting that Shin was not alone. Harassment within the unit is said to have been endemic.
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Citi has previously denied Mr. Lindsay’s accusations and declined to comment for this article, but people close to the bank said its equities operations, especially in the United States, had been difficult. They point to the fact that there is a lack of clear management and that somehow the wrong people keep getting promoted.
“The real question in this case is how did Mani Singh get to such a position at Citi when things were spiraling out of control?” says one Citi equity expert. . Singh, who left Citi in December 2022, also did not comment on this article. He is not named as a defendant in Lindsay’s lawsuit, and her claims against him have not been denied or justified. However, the texts Singh sent to Lindsey are shared in her complaint. These include threats against her children and outright misogyny.[‘] My life from now on will be ruined.”[ensation]. difficult. You look like an idiot too,” and “Obviously.”[iously] I plan to use . . . [m]y power.observation[iously] complete[ensation] It’s just holy[a]RT for where I took everything out. ”
Lindsey said Citi had been informed of the document, but there was no indication that Citi had let Singh go. manvinder versal. His FINRA registration is unmarked.of new york times He says he quietly resigned.
Mr. Singh was promoted to managing director at Citi in 2015 and became global head of platform sales in 2017. In 2020, he was promoted again to Head of Cash Equity Execution Services for the North American Market (“NAM”) and subsequently became Head of Cash and Futures Execution. Lindsay himself was promoted to Managing Director of the Electronic Sales Trading Desk in 2021.
The New York Times, citing three of Lindsay’s co-workers, allege that Lindsay had an affair with Singh in 2018. At one point, Lindsay took out a large loan of more than $200,000 from Singh, bank officials said. “Shin was a problem, but Aldis benefited.” [from the loan]”Citi’s bosses didn’t care about the store,” one person said.
“Mr. Lindsay’s actions did not violate City policy, and Mr. Lindsay returned the money to Mr. Lindsay in less than two months,” said Lindsay’s attorney, Jeremiah Ladebaia. He added that the reference to the loan was simply an attempt to defame her and tarnish her poor treatment, adding, “This matter was brought to light in 2019 because Mr. Singh was using a personal bank account at Citi. was raised during a separate investigation. Mr. Lindsay has fully cooperated with the investigation. ”
Citi itself previously said it had questioned Mr Lindsay at the time of the “major transaction” and that Mr Lindsay had claimed at the time that Mr Singh was just a friend. Nevertheless, City officials question why the abusive relationship was allowed to last so long.
Some point to the fact that Citi’s equity sales and trading business has long been primarily run in London, leaving the U.S. team with insufficient oversight. The equities business is currently led by London-based Fatah Belbashir, who joined from Barclays in August 2020. Mr Belbashir was preceded by London-based Murray Ruth and New York-based Dan Keegan, who ran the business together from 2015 to 2020 (Mr Keegan (remained in office). (Not mentioned in Lindsay’s complaint) until 2022, when he left the company to start a fintech fund. From 2008 until 2016, his shares were managed by Derek Vandeen, who was also based in London. Mr. Lindsay only mentioned the current leader, Mr. Belbathir, and accused him of fostering a sexist environment and supporting Mr. Singh. City strongly denies this.
Some U.S. Citi insiders say London’s bias has contributed to the deterioration of the U.S. stock business culture. “Imagine all the oldest people in London,” says one. However, some people object to this. They argue that acting in London could also be difficult, and point out that the alternative would be for virtually all U.S. banks to manage their operations from New York.
If Citi wants to change the culture of its equities business, insiders say the real key is promoting people with integrity and eliminating bias from the process. Andrew Morton is (also) the current head of London-based markets operations and is trying to clean up the City’s act. But there are also complaints that history is repeating itself, with the recent round of equity promotions going against their favour, with friends of senior executives being promoted. “That’s a problem,” one of the people said. “But it’s been like this for a while. This culture makes it very difficult to succeed. A lot of people have left.”
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