UK MPs Demand Independent Inquiry into FCA Handling of Whistleblower After Death of British Trader

British lawmakers are calling for an independent investigation into how the UK's financial regulator treats whistleblowers, following the death of a former City trader who exposed undisclosed business ties between US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and the late financier Jeffrey Epstein.

Simon Andriesz, a former senior employee at the international brokerage BGC Partners, died in Thailand last month. His family said he took his own life on 23 September and stressed there was no indication of foul play. The death has intensified scrutiny of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and its handling of concerns he raised over several years.

Andriesz had approached the FCA, the FBI and other watchdog bodies earlier this year with evidence he had gathered about business connections between Epstein and Lutnick, the firm's founder and former chief executive who was later appointed to President Donald Trump's cabinet. According to the source material, the evidence cast doubt on Lutnick's public statements regarding his associations with the convicted sex offender.

Among the disclosures Andriesz brought to light was evidence that Lutnick had sought in 2013 to, in Andriesz's words, "buy a prince", offering to enter a business partnership with Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and use the former prince's contacts to draw in investment in exchange for a £1m loan. BGC told the BBC that the proposed joint venture never went ahead.

Andriesz also submitted evidence to the FCA supporting allegations of misconduct at Lutnick's former firm. These included a claim that cash from the commission pool reserved for brokers' bonuses had been "embezzled" for improper purposes — an allegation the company has denied. BGC has previously said it maintains strong policies to protect whistleblowers and has rejected claims that it retaliated against him.

In the weeks before his death, Andriesz spoke at a public event organised by MPs, whistleblowers and campaigners who are pressing for fairer regulation. He described feeling "thoroughly let down" by the FCA and said the regulator had put him through "absolute hell". He had sent the FCA evidence of what he regarded as whistleblower retaliation by BGC and its lawyers, but the regulator had earlier told him there was "insufficient evidence" to conclude retaliation had occurred — a finding he believed made it harder for him to pursue a claim against BGC at an employment tribunal.

A group of UK MPs has now said the death raises "deeply troubling questions" about how whistleblowers are treated when they bring concerns about wrongdoing to the FCA, and about the retaliation that can follow. John McDonnell, the Labour backbench MP who chairs the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Investment Fraud and Fairer Financial Services, described Andriesz's death as a "profound and preventable tragedy". He argued that whistleblowers are "an essential part of the financial regulatory system" and warned of consequences for the integrity of that system if people do not believe they will be "treated properly, protected appropriately and listened to seriously".

The parliamentary group is calling on the FCA to fund an independent evaluation of its handling of whistleblowers. In July, Andriesz told MPs and campaigners that the FCA had been fully informed about other serious allegations he had raised as far back as 2018 and accused the regulator of inaction. The FCA told the BBC at the time that it had acted on his allegations and pointed to a supervision order issued on the basis of his information. Andriesz, however, regarded that measure as amounting to little more than a regulatory "slap on the wrist", and said it 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 failing to fulfil its obligations to the public and to whistleblowers, and was merely "paying lip service" to the rules and regulations. He said the regulator "protects the institution and then exposes the whistleblower to extreme retaliation and devastation to their lives and families".

The FCA said 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 regulator'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."

The case has drawn attention to the wider question of how financial regulators balance the protection of institutions with the safety of individuals who come forward with information about misconduct. MPs argue that any credible regulatory system depends on whistleblowers having confidence that their disclosures will be taken seriously and that they will not face reprisals for speaking out. The promised review by the FCA, and the MPs' demand for an independent evaluation, will now test whether that confidence can be restored.

The BBC has produced a podcast episode, "Epstein Files: Lutnick, the Royals and the British Whistleblower", in which a former trader describes how he uncovered evidence that the US commerce secretary had failed to disclose a business relationship with Epstein. A 2012 photograph discovered in the Epstein files shows Lutnick and Epstein together on Little St James, the financier's private island.