A top headhunter in London has been accused of dangling fake job offers from major banks including Goldman Sachs to trick Wall Street traders into handing over personal information for big pay packages. According to shocking reports.
Odin Partners, a UK-based financial recruitment firm, used false identities when cold calling several top money managers in New York, Bloomberg reported on Friday.
The newspaper said Odin executives then offered fake Wall Street gigs “in exchange for details such as salaries, team composition and the desk's confidential income statements.” It cited internal memos and 10 anonymous sources.
Lawyers representing Odin Partners, led by co-founder Munavar Thomas, told Financial News Agency on September 13 that the allegations are “false.”
In a statement to the same media, the company said: “We are currently engaged in a dispute with those believed to be responsible for the allegations and have been advised not to engage publicly on the issues raised.”
According to Bloomberg, Odin Partners claimed to be recruiting for top US firms Goldman Sachs, Citigroup and Morgan Stanley.
They also told traders that European banks UBS, Deutsche Bank, Barclays and French giant BNP Paribas were among their clients.
Odin “obtains much of its information from legitimate interactions with traders, including face-to-face meetings,” the report said.
“However, it is also alleged that Odin's staff used false identities to obtain confidential market information from traders at some of the world's largest banks.”
Officials described the process as a “ruse,” according to the report. The term dates back to the 14th century and refers to acts intended to mislead or deceive. One former Odin staffer said using subterfuge in the job was a “necessary evil.”
Another former Odin recruiter said, “I'm not sure if he ever called me using his real name. I don't remember ever doing so. Most of the time he used a fake name.” .
Bloomberg said the company uses that information for what it describes as “market mapping” of “key companies trading in some of the world's largest asset classes, from interest rates to currencies.”
That personal data was then shown to some of the firm's clients, allegedly revealing previously secret details of the performance of rival trading desks.
Citi, Morgan Stanley and Deutsche Bank declined to comment. Other banks did not respond to The Post's requests for comment.
Financial headhunters need to know not only the salaries of existing bank employees, but also the performance of individuals on the trading desk, two of the banking industry's most closely guarded secrets.
Successful recruiters can collect up to 25% of a candidate's first-year total compensation in referral fees.
Odin is headquartered in the heart of London's financial district, Canary Wharf, east of the British capital.
According to its website, the company claims to have placed more than 900 executives in senior roles around the world, and also has offices in Singapore, New York, and Hong Kong.
