MPs call for investigation after Lutnick-Epstein whistleblower dies
Simon Andriesz said he felt let down by the UK's Financial Conduct Authority before his death last month.
**MPs demand inquiry after Lutnick-Epstein whistleblower dies**
Simon Andriesz, a former senior employee of BGC Partners, died last month in Thailand
The UK's financial watchdog must face scrutiny over how it treats whistleblowers after the death of a British trader who uncovered evidence of ties between US commerce secretary Howard Lutnick and Jeffrey Epstein, MPs have said.
Simon Andriesz, a former senior employee of BGC Partners — the international financial brokerage firm founded and led by Lutnick before his appointment by US President Donald Trump — died last month in Thailand.
Earlier this year, Andriesz raised concerns with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), the FBI and other watchdogs about evidence he had found of business links between Epstein and Lutnick. The material called into question Lutnick's public comments about his relationship with the late sex offender.
A group of UK MPs has now said his death raises "deeply troubling questions" about how whistleblowers may be treated when they go to the FCA — the financial regulator — with allegations of wrongdoing and later retaliation.
Andriesz's family said he took his own life on 23 September, and that there was no indication of foul play.
Andriesz found evidence that Lutnick had sought, in Andriesz's words, to "buy a prince", offering in 2013 to go into business with Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and use the former prince's contacts to draw in investment, in return for a £1m loan. BGC told the BBC the proposed joint venture never went ahead.
Andriesz also sent evidence to the FCA backing his claims of misconduct at Lutnick's former firm, including an allegation that cash from the pool of commission money reserved for brokers' bonuses was "embezzled" for improper use — an allegation the company has denied.
A former trader explains how he uncovered evidence that US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick had failed to disclose a business relationship with the paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein.
In the weeks before his death, Andriesz told a public event organised by MPs, whistleblowers and campaigners seeking fairer regulation that he felt "thoroughly let down" and had been put through "absolute hell" by the FCA, to which he had submitted evidence of what he saw as whistleblower retaliation by BGC and its lawyers.
The FCA had earlier told Andriesz there was "insufficient evidence" to conclude retaliation had taken place, a finding he believed made it harder to pursue a claim against BGC at tribunal.
BGC previously told the BBC it had strong whistleblower protections 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, called Andriesz's death a "profound and preventable tragedy".
He said whistleblowers were "an essential part of the financial regulatory system" and warned there would be consequences for the system's integrity if people did not believe they would be "treated properly, protected appropriately and listened to seriously".
The MPs' group called for the FCA to fund an independent body to assess how it handles whistleblowers.
In July, Andriesz told MPs and campaigners that the FCA had been fully briefed on other serious allegations he had made as far back as 2018 and accused it of failing to act.
The FCA told the BBC in July that 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 was little more than a regulatory "slap on the wrist" and made it harder to bring a whistleblower retaliation claim against BGC at tribunal.
Later that month, he told a meeting of the campaign group the Transparency Task Force that the FCA was not meeting its obligations to the public and whistleblowers and was 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 said.
The FCA told the BBC it was appointing a new non-executive director to its board, former Bank of England director Lea Paterson, to carry out a review into Andriesz's treatment and the FCA's handling of his whistleblower allegations.
An FCA spokesperson said: "We are very 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."