Key takeaways:
- Simon Andriesz’s family said he took his own life in Thailand on 23 September and that there was no suggestion of foul play.
- Andriesz raised concerns with regulators about alleged links between Howard Lutnick and Jeffrey Epstein, as well as alleged misconduct at BGC.
- The FCA has assigned a board member to review its handling of Andriesz; MPs want an independent evaluation.
Britain’s financial watchdog is reviewing how it treated a former brokerage executive who raised concerns about alleged business links between US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Jeffrey Epstein before taking his own life. Members of Parliament say the review must be independent of the regulator.
Simon Andriesz, 57, died in Thailand on 23 September. His family said he took his own life and that there was no suggestion of foul play. He had been a senior employee at BGC Group, the financial brokerage formerly run by Lutnick.
Andriesz brought evidence about Lutnick and Epstein to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), the FBI and other watchdogs, according to the BBC. The Guardian reported that he told the FBI in 2020-21 about what he believed were undeclared business ties. Lutnick has said he had no “personal or professional relationship” with Epstein and has not been accused of wrongdoing in relation to him.
The Guardian reported that Andriesz later found emails in the Epstein files suggesting Lutnick and Epstein discussed a startup business in which both were involved in 2018. Epstein died in jail in August 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges.
Andriesz also uncovered evidence that Lutnick proposed a business venture in 2013 with Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, the former prince, involving a £1 million loan in exchange for using his contacts to attract investment, according to the BBC. Andriesz described the proposal as an attempt to “buy a prince”. BGC told the BBC the venture did not go ahead.
Separately, Andriesz accused BGC of misconduct, including allegedly diverting money from a pool set aside for brokers’ bonuses for improper purposes. BGC has denied that allegation. The Guardian reported that he first raised concerns about accounting irregularities internally in 2016 and was dismissed the following year. BGC has also denied retaliating against him.
Andriesz said the FCA failed to act adequately on his allegations or protect him from retaliation. The regulator previously told him there was “insufficient evidence” to conclude BGC had retaliated. According to the Guardian, it also wrongly told him he could not qualify for whistleblower protection because his identity was known; the FCA apologised and said it would provide more guidance and training to its whistleblowing team.
The FCA told the BBC it had acted on Andriesz’s information and issued a supervision order. He considered that response a regulatory “slap on the wrist”. At a public event weeks before his death, he said he felt “thoroughly let down” and had been put through “absolute hell”.
The FCA has asked Lea Paterson, a new non-executive director on its board, to review its interactions with Andriesz. It expressed condolences to his family and said it wanted to learn lessons.
But an all-party group of MPs said an internal review risked letting the FCA “mark its own homework” and called for the regulator to fund an independent evaluation of its handling of whistleblowers. The group’s chair, Labour MP John McDonnell, called Andriesz’s death a “profound and preventable tragedy” and said the group could seek evidence from other whistleblowers if the FCA did not agree.
BGC said it had long disputed Andriesz’s allegations but would not revisit them “at this sad time”, and offered condolences to his family.
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