An official probe has been launched after the death of a banker who exposed Donald Trump’s Commerce Secretary’s links to Jeffrey Epstein, the Daily Beast and PunchUp have learned.
Simon Andriesz, a British former Wall Street executive, died by suicide at 57 last week. He revealed the extent of Howard Lutnick’s relationship with Epstein earlier this year—after the commerce secretary claimed he had shunned the sex offender shortly after meeting him.
Andriesz also spent a decade alleging serious misconduct at BGC Financial—the brokerage formerly run by Lutnick, 65—and that senior management failed to address the wrongdoing. BGC denies the allegations.
In a previously unpublished interview with PunchUp last year, Andriesz made the explosive claim that money owed to brokers had been diverted to cover costs arising from a sexual harassment case involving a young, female BGC employee.
Britain’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has now commissioned a review of its interactions with Andriesz, after acknowledging that his whistleblowing led to regulatory action.
The watchdog said that it should examine Andriesz’s experience carefully and take lessons from it, including how it communicates with and supports vulnerable people facing difficult circumstances.
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 have 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.”
Paterson is a former journalist and current chair of the Senior Salaries Review Body, a Civil Service Commissioner, and a board member of the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority. The organization wants the review, which it expects to complete by the end of the year, to produce recommendations for the future.
In a Sept. 26 letter sent to Andriesz’s representative, John Robertson, after Andriesz’s death, FCA chief executive Nikhil Rathi said Andriesz did not feel he received the “clarity, understanding and closure” he had sought.
Robertson said: “Simon spent years trying to get people to listen. The tragedy is that the serious questions are only being asked now that he is gone.”
The former BGC employee who bought the sexual harassment complaint against the company alleged in a 2012 lawsuit that her first job after college exposed her to a trading-floor culture where women were routinely judged by their bodies and male brokers openly discussed sex.
Her complaint described computer screens displaying scantily dressed women and brokers loudly discussing women’s breasts and backsides. One employee allegedly repeatedly yelled “I LOVE SEX” across the trading floor and made noises mimicking intercourse.
One broker was accused of repeatedly commenting on the young employee’s breasts, telling her he wanted to sleep with her, and calling her “Agent Shagwell,” a reference to the Austin Powers movies. The woman, whom PunchUp has also interviewed, alleged the same man once grabbed her after again saying he wanted to have sex with her.
She said she eventually suffered panic attacks, sought medical help, and complained to HR before being ostracized. She later went on medical leave and lost her job, according to the allegations. The allegations were made in civil litigation and are not findings that the conduct occurred. The case was eventually settled.
Jean-Pierre Aubin, a senior BGC executive who later became one of the company’s co-CEOs, was also named in the case. While there was no allegation that Aubin had personally sexually harassed the woman, the lawsuit alleged he tolerated the atmosphere and witnessed inappropriate behavior towards the woman, but did not intervene.
In separate proceedings, Aubin testified that he had been included as a defendant because he was the senior manager responsible for the business.
Evidence in later proceedings indicated that costs arising from the dispute had been allocated to Aubin’s business, slashing compensation available to brokers working under him. Andriesz alleged that approximately $400,000 ultimately came out of bonus pools belonging to dozens of brokers.
Andriesz also claimed that Lutnick knew about the settlement and its legal costs. “I have little doubt Mr. Lutnick, as a hands-on CEO, personally signed off on the sexual harassment settlement and associated legal costs,” Andriesz told PunchUp. “Not only that, I do not believe for a moment that Mr. Lutnick was unaware the substantial liabilities were being quietly deducted from brokers’ bonus pools.”
The Beast and PunchUp have not independently established that Lutnick personally authorized or knew about those charges.
A BGC spokesperson said: “BGC has long disputed Mr. Andriesz’s allegations but does not intend to relitigate these matters at this sad time. BGC is sorry to hear this tragic news and expresses our condolences to Mr. Andriesz’s family.” The Commerce Department did not respond to a request for comment.
BGC rejected Andriesz’s wider allegations when the BBC reported on them in July. It called them “categorically false” and said authorities in several countries did not substantiate them after investigation.
Andriesz won $500,000 in a June 2024 FINRA arbitration against BGC, although the panel rejected his remaining claims against several individual respondents. He later tried to overturn or modify parts of the ruling in federal court, but a judge refused.
Some of his U.S. disclosures contributed to a Commodity Futures Trading Commission case that resulted in BGC Financial paying a $3 million penalty in 2019.
Andriesz discovered records showing Lutnick and Epstein were in contact after 2005, the year that the former claimed he completely severed ties. Lutnick later admitted that he and his family visited Epstein’s Caribbean island in 2012.
The 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline is a hotline for individuals in crisis or for those looking to help someone else. To speak with a trained listener, call 988.
Tom Latchem exposes the secrets, scandals, and stories that powerful people and institutions want to keep under wraps. Follow all of his reporting at PunchUp on Substack.
