Home secretary, Sajid Javid refused to rule out “civil disorder leading to widespread unrest” following a no-deal Brexit. But there’s another possible outcome too. Because it’s also emerged that rich hedge fund bosses could make billions if we leave the EU with no deal. And one person who stands make a vast profit is a key ally of arch-Brexiteer Jacob Rees-Mogg.
Billions
A report in the Sunday Telegraph revealed that hedge fund bosses are “wagering billions on a slump in the pound” triggered by a no-deal Brexit. One of the key players in this ‘game’ is Crispin Odey:
This is Crispin Odey who bankrolled the Brexit campaign & made £220m by shorting the pound on the night of the referendum https://t.co/UfJfgWHZ91
— SomersetChris (@somersetchris) September 10, 2018
This man, Christian Odey, paid £1m for the Leave campaign. He has a £3bn riding on short selling your future.
Sickening. Rise up people. https://t.co/nvGde5UF7C
— Malex (@markpalexander) September 9, 2018
Crispin Odey bankrolled the #Brexit campaign & made £220m by shorting the pound on the night of the referendum.
Now he hoping to profit again from the harm Brexit will do to our economy.
Wouldn't it be tragic if Crispin didn't get his way?#PeoplesVotehttps://t.co/W9XjFLtiDJ
— Cornwall for Europe #FBPE (@Cornwall4EU) September 9, 2018
Odey invested close to £1m in the Leave campaign. He also paid £6,000 to help re-elect Jacob Rees-Mogg in the 2017 General election.
But his links to Rees-Mogg don’t end there. Because Somerset Capital Management (SCM), an investment firm set up by Jacob Rees-Mogg, “initially operated under the wing of Odey’s hedge fund, Odey Asset Management”.
A longstanding supporter of fellow Brexiteer Jacob Rees-Mogg, Odey helped Rees-Mogg set up an investment firm of his own, Somerset Capital Management, which has virtually no investments in the UK, but large holdings in Russia.https://t.co/mP4HGJsx00
— Brexitshambles (@brexit_sham) August 29, 2018
As the Guardian reported, “Rees-Mogg is a non-executive chair at SCM and is paid about £14,000-a-month for working 30 hours a month there”.
Some people on Twitter asked what “short selling” is:
A short is a way of making money on a falling market. So if you believe that at some future point in time GBP will fall dramatically in price you enter into a forward currency contract. That is an agreement to sell a currency for a predetermined price on a specified future date.
— Malex (@markpalexander) September 9, 2018
In other words, it’s pretty much certain that the pound will plummet further in a no-deal Brexit. So Odey and his pals have already placed bets on this happening. It’s part of a ‘game’ that also saw Odey make a reported $300m when the pound slumped after the EU referendum result.
Deal or no-deal?
But Odey’s investments don’t stop there. Because as well as funding Rees-Mogg, Odey is a significant Conservative Party donor. But he’s also one of “UKIP’s most high-profile backers” and reportedly gave UKIP £22,000 in 2014 when Nigel Farage ran the party. Rees-Mogg allegedly called UKIP “the natural allies of the Conservatives”. And when Odey and his mates made millions following the referendum vote, there was widespread speculation that Farage may have used the results from private polls to help short sellers’ profits soar further.
Crispin Odey, whose company made £220m shorting the brexit pound was an investor in Rees-Mogg's company. Get it now? #Brexitfraud
— Mr Ethical (@nw_nicholas) July 4, 2018
Some people on Twitter are starting to join up the dots:
Leave means as much economic uncertainty and disruptions as possible so that Odey, Rees-Mogg, Farage and co. can clean up on their pound sterling shorts.
— Tom Holland (@tomholland28) September 10, 2018
The uncomfortable alliance between these three might be a coincidence. But the reported meetings between ultra far-right figure Steve Bannon with both Farage and Rees-Mogg make it look far less coincidental.
As Theresa May’s Brexit chaos continues, many on the right – including Rees-Mogg and Boris Johnson – seem set on pushing us somewhere even worse. If that were possible. If this is because their rich allies stand to make billions from the potential carnage then we need to know about it.
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Featured images via LadyGeekTV/Wikimedia and PublicDomainPictures
