Citi Sued for Sexual Harassment in Lawsuit Citing ‘Notoriously Hostile’ Environment, Banker Like ‘House of Cards’

Citigroup was sued Monday by a managing director who said a former securities banker subjected her to sexual harassment and abuse, including death threats.

Ardith Lindsey said the New York-based bank, her employer since 2007, downplayed her complaints about Mani Singh, who had been her head of cash equity execution services in North American markets before he resigned. last November.

Lindsey also accused Citigroup of tolerating a “notoriously hostile” environment in its stock division.

He said men there ranked their colleagues based on appearance, argued with whom they wanted to have sex, pressured women to visit strip clubs and mocked the bank’s sexual harassment training and women’s initiatives.

The plaintiff, who worked as an e-commerce sales manager in the United States, said she has been on medical leave since the end of 2022 and suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety, depression, memory loss and a 24-point drop in her IQ. intellectual.

Lindsey’s lawsuit in federal court in Manhattan seeks damages for violations of New York state and city civil rights laws.

It joins other lawsuits accusing big banks of allowing “boys club” work environments where men objectify women and hinder their careers. Singh is not an accused.

Citigroup said it will defend itself against Lindsey’s claims.

“Our values ​​and expectations are clear: no one should be discriminated against or harassed in the workplace,” said the third largest bank in the United States.

“With respect to Mr. Singh, the conduct detailed in the complaint is deplorable, but the relationship described by Ms. Lindsey differs significantly from the accounts she previously provided,” he added.

An attorney who represented Singh in separate litigation did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

‘We walk the plank together until death’

Lindsey said Singh subjected her for many years to increasingly volatile abuse, sometimes fueled by alcohol or drugs, including alleged threats to destroy her career and reputation if she resisted his advances.

He said Singh often referred to himself as Frank Underwood, the fictional politician played by Kevin Spacey on the television show “House of Cards” who manipulated others for his own ends.

Lindsey said that after their relationship ended in October 2022, Singh began five days of incessant phone calls and expletive-filled text messages, including threats that they would “walk the plank together to death” and that their children would be “ ruined.”

The complaint says Citigroup eventually distanced itself from Singh after Lindsey revealed the messages, but told staff that Singh was leaving for “personal and family reasons.”

He also said the bank failed to inform brokerage regulator FINRA of his misconduct on a form it was required to file upon his departure.

Lindsey’s lawsuit also seeks damages under New York’s Adult Survivors Act for an alleged sexual assault by another Citigroup executive after a Christmas party in December 2007.

That law gives sexual abuse accusers a one-year deadline that expires Nov. 23 to sue for alleged misconduct that occurred long ago, even if statutes of limitations have expired.

Citigroup “repeatedly emboldened bad behavior by looking the other way,” Lindsey’s attorney, Jeremiah Iadevaia, said in a statement.

In its statement Monday, Citigroup said it placed Singh on leave after learning of his text messages, and that he resigned before completing its investigation.