For years, Christine O’Reilly, a dealer on the interdealer brokerage TP ICAP, alleges she suffered sexual harassment from Benjamin Waters, a dealer at Citigroup and a consumer, who would ship her late-night messages, unfold rumors they have been sleeping collectively and as soon as tried to comply with her into her resort room, O’Reilly claims. The unwelcome advances acquired so dangerous that in 2023, she lastly blocked him on the messaging platform WhatsApp.
However when O’Reilly’s supervisor discovered, the 31-year-old dealer alleges she was compelled to unblock the dealer, “tying her job to the necessity to tolerate sexual harassment,” in response to a lawsuit filed in a Mahattan federal court docket on Monday.
The incident is only one of a number of outlined within the go well with—filed by O’Reilly towards TP ICAP, Citigroup, and her supervisor, Janie McCathie—that reveal “how unethical merchants at highly effective monetary establishments exploit management over profitable order flows to extract inappropriate private favors from brokers,” in response to the criticism. Waters isn’t listed as a defendant, however the go well with claims there was a second Citi worker who allegedly knew concerning the harassment sample and did nothing.
“No skilled ought to have to decide on between struggling or enduring harassment and dropping a profession,” Seth Redniss, the lawyer representing O’Reilly, advised Fortune. “That’s not a alternative, that’s coercion.”
Citi advised Fortune that “the 2 people immediately linked to Citi who’re named within the go well with are not with the financial institution,” however declined to remark additional. ICAP did reply to repeated requests for remark.
In June 2017, the go well with says O’Reilly was promoted to dealer on ICAP’s Delta One MSCI Desk in New York, the place she started reporting to McCathie, who was based mostly in London. It was by means of McCathie that she first met Waters, who the criticism describes as a high-value dealer who may direct billions of {dollars} in money circulate towards the brokerage.
Between 2020 and 2023, the go well with alleges that Waters, based mostly in London, made persistent and undesirable advances towards O’Reilly, with McCathie’s full information. Screenshots included within the go well with present Waters making repeated video calls and sending textual content messages to O’Reilly on WhatsApp regardless of receiving no response.
The go well with additionally alleges that Waters despatched sexually express messages to O’Reilly, asking her to ship images of herself and twice sharing practically nude images of a lady he stated he was relationship. Waters additionally messaged O’Reilly on Instagram to ask what she was sporting, in response to a screenshot within the go well with.
On July 26, 2023, screenshots present that O’Reilly blocked Waters on WhatsApp. However McCathie ordered O’Reilly to unblock him, the go well with alleges, and screenshots then present O’Reilly unblocking Waters on Tuesday, Aug. 8. That Saturday, Waters despatched O’Reilly a photograph of himself getting drinks with McCathie, “reminding Ms. O’Reilly of his perceived untouchable standing,” the criticism alleges.
“This was me telling you … you didn’t learn between the traces,” he wrote Aug. 25, after O’Reilly didn’t reply to the sooner message.
He then known as O’Reilly, who didn’t reply, and a day later texted her, “are you even alive?”
In September 2023, Waters left a touch upon considered one of O’Reilly’s Instagram posts, saying, “good ft,” screenshots present. O’Reilly despatched him an indignant response saying he was bombarding her with messages that didn’t relate to their skilled relationship and asking him what he needed.
However when O’Reilly shared the trade in her work WhatsApp group, her bosses scolded her for upsetting a consumer, and had an prolonged back-and-forth on one of the best ways to fix the connection, together with drafting an apology for O’Reilly to ship to Waters, in response to the criticism.
“[Christine] this isn’t cool,” McCathie texted, in response to screenshots. “He’s our consumer and is essential to us.”
She later requested, “Am I ever going to see one other order from him now after that message?”
“There’s this view that you already know what you might be entering into as a lady. You might be anticipated to play the sport,” O’Reilly advised Bloomberg. “It’s slimy and disgusting.”
For Citigroup, the case is the second go well with prior to now yr alleging sexual harassment inside its equities buying and selling division. In November, a managing director alleged {that a} high fairness banker in Citi’s North American markets division threatened her and her kids if she continued to refuse his advances, and her lawsuit accuses the financial institution of permitting a “notoriously hostile” tradition towards girls to develop in its equities division. Citi is searching for to have the costs dismissed.
O’Reilly remains to be employed by ICAP, and has been on a go away of absence since earlier this yr when she filed a proper criticism with the brokerage.
“I do know this can be a nail within the coffin for my broking profession,” she advised Bloomberg. “I simply hope that if folks learn this stuff, they notice it’s mistaken, it’s so mistaken.”
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