Simon Andriesz, a British banker and whistleblower whose disclosures brought renewed scrutiny to U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick’s relationship with Jeffrey Epstein, has died by suicide. He was 57.
Andriesz’s death was confirmed by Andy Agathangelou, founder of the Transparency Task Force, who said that Andriesz, a valued member of the organization’s community, had died the previous week.
Andriesz spent more than 35 years working in financial markets and previously served as a managing director at BGC Group, where Lutnick was chief executive. He became publicly prominent in 2026 after speaking with the BBC about information he had uncovered in the millions of documents released as part of investigations into Epstein.
According to the BBC investigation, Andriesz discovered an email exchange from 2018 involving Lutnick and Epstein concerning Adfin, a startup in which Epstein and a Lutnick-related firm had invested. He subsequently shared information from the Epstein files with members of the U.S. House Oversight Committee.
Andriesz also identified documents concerning a proposed business arrangement involving Lutnick’s firm and Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, formerly Prince Andrew. His disclosures were featured in the BBC’s File on 4 Investigates program in July 2026.
The BBC reported that Andriesz had previously raised concerns about accounting irregularities at his former employer and was dismissed in 2017. His allegations later contributed to regulatory action against BGC Financial, which was ordered to pay a $3 million penalty for supervision, reporting and record-keeping violations. BGC disputed Andriesz’s allegations and denied retaliating against him.
Lutnick has denied wrongdoing and has condemned Epstein’s criminal conduct. He has acknowledged meeting Epstein on his private island in 2012, after previously describing his contact with Epstein differently.
Andriesz later spoke publicly about the personal and professional consequences of whistleblowing. His death has prompted condolences from members of the whistleblowing community, while further details about his funeral and family have not been publicly disclosed.