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The Moelis investment banker who was filmed punching someone during a New York City Pride event this month has resigned from the Wall Street firm.
Moelis confirmed the departure of the banker, Jonathan Kaye, in a statement on Monday.
Kaye, who ran Moelis’ global business services franchise, was placed on leave two weeks ago after a short clip circulated on social media platform X showing him hitting a person in the face at a street corner.
A representative for Kaye did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The exit caps a turbulent few weeks for Kaye, who until this event was one of Moelis’ most senior bankers, having spent two decades on Wall Street. The incident caught on film occurred late on Saturday June 8 in Brooklyn as he passed an event in Brooklyn celebrating the start of LGBTQIA+ Pride month.
The short clip which was widely shared online showed Kaye throwing a punch and then walking away.
The Financial Times has previously reported that the altercation took place after Kaye, who is Jewish, approached four individuals with a Palestinian flag and told them they were “on the wrong side”. The individuals are then alleged to have thrown liquids on Kaye and a scuffle ensued.
The incident lit up industry message boards such as Wall Street Oasis, with some commenters coming to Kaye’s defence and others condemning his behaviour.
Kaye joined Moelis in 2013 from Citigroup as a managing director. He is a graduate of Tufts University and Duke University School of Law. Moelis had previously praised Kaye’s leadership at the bank, saying the unit he led had “become a recognised global leader having advised on over 100 transactions across the sector”.
The boutique investment bank was founded by former UBS banker Ken Moelis in 2007, one of a number of independent advisory firms that have grown in prominence in recent years along with the likes of Centerview and Evercore.
Moleis went public in 2014 and has a market capitalisation of about $4bn.
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