Ardith Lindsey suing Citigroup slams firm’s investigations unit as

Ardith Lindsey suing Citigroup slams firm’s investigations unit as

A Citigroup govt suing the financial institution for sexual harassment has slammed the Jane Fraser-led lender’s investigations unit as “HR’s internal hit squad,” according to a report.

Ardith Lindsey made the bombshell claims in an interview with the Financial Times on Wednesday, alleging that the Citi Security and Investigative Services (CSIS) — staffed with ex-FBI brokers and prosecutors — twisted her confidential statements for use against her after she reported loss of life threats from a supervisor.

“Citi’s CSIS operates as HR’s internal hit squad, highly trained to protect the firm at employees’ expense,” the banker was quoted as saying by the FT.

Ardith Lindsey made her bombshell claims in an interview with the British newspaper the Financial Times on Wednesday. Facebook/Ardith Lindsey

The British newspaper reported that current and former staff have echoed her issues, saying CSIS probes result in retaliation or compelled exits when staffers elevate misconduct flags.

A Citi spokesperson said the lender “takes seriously our responsibility to look into concerns raised about conduct within the bank. These situations are inherently challenging for those involved, and we approach them with professionalism, integrity, and empathy.”

“Our Security and Investigative Services team consists of highly experienced professionals whose responsibilities include supporting Citi disaster response efforts, protection for colleagues around the world, and looking into certain concerns about colleague behaviour along a clearly laid-out set of guidelines,” they added.

Lindsey’s 2023 lawsuit accuses Citi of fostering a “pervasive” tradition and “notoriously hostile” setting of sexual harassment and gender discrimination in its equities division.

The saga underscores Wall Street’s post-#MeToo reckoning, with Lindsey’s lawsuit drawing additional scrutiny of Citi’s office setting.

She detailed years of abuse from Mani Singh, her former boss in Citi’s equities team, who resigned in November 2022 and is not registered with any monetary agency, according to his profile on FINRA, a US monetary providers watchdog.

Lindsey’s 2023 lawsuit accuses Citi of fostering a “pervasive” tradition and “notoriously hostile” setting of sexual harassment and gender discrimination in its equities division. Christopher Sadowski

Lindsey alleged that he subjected her to many years of his more and more risky misbehavior, sometimes fueled by alcohol or medicine, including alleged threats to destroy her profession and fame if she resisted his advances.

After ending their relationship, Singh allegedly texted her threats like “going to set you on fire” and “Your children will have no future with [a] S–t like you,” according to her grievance. He will not be a defendant in the case.

Four staff, talking on condition of anonymity with the British outlet, described being grilled by CSIS on delicate points like discrimination and assault, with three saying it backfired.

Scotland-born CEO Jane Fraser is main a turnaround of the financial institution to spice up income and overhaul its construction. REUTERS

Two flagged compliance lapses, only to face swift probes or firings. One was terminated a day after her interview; another endured a baseless inquiry right into a colleague relationship, believing it was payback.

“It’s always two on one, two CSIS people against one individual,” said one former Citi worker, who was quoted by the Financial Times. “All it says is, ‘We’re meeting with you about a confidential matter. Please do not disclose to anyone, even your manager.’”

In Lindsey’s case, Citi cited her statements to defend itself publicly and legally, claiming she described the relationship as consensual.

Lindsey, a 15-year veteran of the agency who rose by means of the ranks to managing director, also alleged an early assault by a senior supervisor who forcibly kissed her at age 24.

The saga underscores Wall Street’s post-#MeToo reckoning, with Lindsey’s lawsuit drawing additional scrutiny of Citi’s office setting. Getty Images

She said her interview got here just days after she reported the threats to human sources in November 2022, according to the court docket filings.

Lindsey also alleged that her employer rejected her requests for counsel during her CSIS interview or a gathering abstract afterward.

Citi suspended Singh within hours of Lindsey’s report of his allegedly abusive habits. He would resign later that month.

Her lawsuit prompted Citi’s markets head Andy Morton to ship a company-wide memo that urged all workers to talk up:

“No colleague should ever be discriminated against or harassed,” he wrote in the November 2023 missive.

But earlier this 12 months, a former managing director said she was compelled out after being sexually harassed by top Citi govt Andy Sieg, who oversees the financial institution’s wealth administration unit and is one in every of the financial institution’s top executives.

In a grievance filed in January in Manhattan federal court docket, Julia Carreon, who was global head of platform and experiences, said Sieg initially supported her and helped her get hold of a promotion soon after beginning his job in October 2023.

A seperate lawsuit from a former managing director accused top govt Andy Sieg of harassment. Citi says the grievance “has absolutely no merit.” Getty Images

But he shortly started a “campaign of unrelenting and egregious sexual harassment, manipulation, and grooming.” Both Citi and Sieg have strongly denied the allegations.

Echoing Lindsey’s claims, she alleged that the financial institution’s “weaponized” human sources division then started its personal campaign to pressure her out, “consistent with HR’s perpetuating Citi’s decades-long history of bias and harassment against women,” until she left in June 2024.

But the financial institution hit again in a later authorized submitting, stating that Carreon “voluntarily resigned from Citi to pursue a new venture” and that repeatedly praised Sieg’s administration fashion in emails.

“Andy’s leadership is the best thing to happen to this place,” the submitting quotes an e mail from Carreon as saying.

The Citi spokesperson told The Post: “This lawsuit has absolutely no merit and we will demonstrate that through the legal process.”

Citigroup is the third-largest US financial institution by property and the largest led by a girl. Sieg is one in every of chief govt Jane Fraser’s highest-profile hires

Fraser, in the top job since March 2021, is main an overhaul of the lender with a view to boosting income and a “high-performance environment” as a part of her strategy to remodel, simplify, and modernize the financial institution.

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