UK MPs call for investigation after Lutnick-Epstein whistleblower dies

ByAndy Verity Investigations correspondent.

Key points

• Andriesz's family remarked he had taken his own life on 23 September, and that there was no suggestion of foul play.
• The FCA informed the BBC in July it had acted on his allegations and pointed to a supervision order it had issued based on his information.
• An FCA spokesperson remarked: We are highly sorry to hear of Mr Andriesz's death.
• It cast doubt on Lutnick's public statements regarding his associations with the late sex offender.
• The group of MPs pressed the FCA to pay for an independent party to evaluate its handling of whistleblowers.

Notably, the treatment of whistleblowers by the UK's financial watchdog must be investigated after the death of a British trader who exposed evidence of links between US commerce secretary Howard Lutnick and Jeffrey Epstein, MPs have stated.

Simon Andriesz, a former senior employee of BGC Partners – the international firm of financial brokers founded and run by Lutnick before his appointment by US President Donald Trump – died last month in Thailand.

Earlier this year, Andriesz triggered concern with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), the FBI and other watchdogs regarding evidence he had uncovered of business links between Epstein and Lutnick. It cast doubt on Lutnick's public statements regarding his associations with the late sex offender.

Meanwhile, a group of UK MPs have now remarked his death raises "deeply troubling questions" concerning the way whistleblowers can be treated when they approach the FCA – the financial regulator – with reservations concerning wrongdoing and subsequent retaliation.

Andriesz's family remarked he had taken his own life on 23 September, and that there was no suggestion of foul play. How US commerce secretary's Epstein links were uncovered by British whistleblower.

Andriesz uncovered evidence that Lutnick had sought, in Andriesz's words, to "buy a prince", offering to go into business with Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor in 2013 and utilise the former prince's contacts to attract investments, in exchange for a loan of £1m. BGC informed the BBC the proposed joint venture did not go ahead.

Andriesz additionally submitted evidence to the FCA to backing his allegations of misconduct at Lutnick's former firm, including an allegation that cash from the pool of commission funds set aside to pay brokers' bonuses was "embezzled" for improper purposes – an allegation the firm has denied.

Weeks before his death, Andriesz informed a public event led by MPs, whistleblowers and campaigners calling for fairer regulation that he felt "thoroughly let down" and had been put through "absolute hell" by the FCA, to whom he had sent evidence of what he regarded as whistleblower retaliation by BGC and its lawyers.

In practice, the FCA had previously informed Andriesz there was "insufficient evidence" to conclude there had been retaliation, a conclusion he believed produced it harder to win a claim against BGC at tribunal.

BGC previously informed the BBC it had robust policies protecting whistleblowers and denied retaliating against him.

John McDonnell, the Labour backbench MP and chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Investment Fraud and Fairer Financial Services, described Andriesz's death as a "profound and preventable tragedy".

He remarked whistleblowers were "an essential part of the financial regulatory system" and cautioned there would be consequences for the integrity of the system if individuals did not believe they would be "treated properly, protected appropriately and listened to seriously".

Notably, the group of MPs pressed the FCA to pay for an independent party to evaluate its handling of whistleblowers. 'Extreme retaliation and devastation'.

In July, Andriesz informed MPs and campaigners the FCA had been fully informed concerning other serious allegations he had created as long ago as 2018 and accused it of inaction.

Meanwhile, the FCA informed the BBC in July it had acted on his allegations and pointed to a supervision order it had issued based on his information.

But in Andriesz's view that amounted to little more than a regulatory "slap on the wrist" and created it harder to produce a claim for whistleblower retaliation against BGC at tribunal.

Afterwards that month, he informed a session of the campaign group the Transparency Task Force the FCA was not fulfilling its obligations to the public and whistleblowers and merely "pays lip service" to the rules and regulations.

"It protects the institution and then exposes the whistleblower to extreme retaliation and devastation to their lives and families, " he remarked.

For context, the FCA informed the BBC it was appointing a new non-executive director on its board, former Bank of England director Lea Paterson, to conduct a review into Andriesz's treatment and the FCA's handling of his whistleblower allegations.

For context, an FCA spokesperson remarked: We are highly sorry to hear of Mr Andriesz's death. Our thoughts are with his family and friends.

"Since expressing our condolences, we'd asked Lea Paterson, who has just joined our board as a non-executive director, to review how we interacted with Mr Andriesz to learn any lessons for the future."

Taken together, the developments around UK MPs call for investigation after Lutnick point to a situation that is still moving, and the coming days should bring more clarity.