As the Financial Conduct Authority launches a probe into its handling of allegations made by whistleblower Simon Andriesz following his suicide,Katie Rosseinskyexplores the strange and sad web of deaths with links to Jeffrey Epstein
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In the seven years since the convicted paedophileJeffrey Epsteinwasfound deadin his New York prison cell while awaiting trial for sex trafficking charges,conspiracy theorieshave bloomed online, with all the speed and fervency of a particularly virulent mould.
Thedeath of the sex offender financierwas ruled as a suicide, and in 2023, the US Department of Justice concluded that there was no evidence of foul play; it did, however, admit that “negligence, misconduct and outright job performance failures” at the Metropolitan correctional centre provided the sex offender “with the opportunity to take his own life”.
Those performance failures included guards not checking on Epstein or properly searching his cell, allowing him to accumulate an excess of bedding, as well as not assigning him a new cell mate after a previous suicide attempt.
It is striking details like these that have been poured over endlessly in the darker crevices of the internet, used to bolster claims that Epstein was murdered before he could drag down the wealthy and powerful people that made up his social and business circles.
But what has prompted yet more speculation is the spate of deaths of people connected to the financier, be they alleged associates, accusers or whistleblowers.
Earlier this week, it was reported that Simon Andriesz, a British whistleblower who had unveiled evidence of links between US commerce secretary Howard Lutnick and Epstein, had died. His family said that he had taken his own life last month, and that there was no suggestion of foul play. Andriesz previously worked as a managing director at BGC Partners, the financial brokerage company founded and run by Lutnick, before he was appointed by President Donald Trump to lead the US commerce department.
By searching through the Epstein files, the cache of emails and other documents released by the Department of Justice earlier this year, he said he had uncovered a 2018 email chain in which Lutnick and Epstein, who were at one point next-door neighbours on Manhattan’s Upper East Side, discussed a start-up business they were both involved in. Lutnick has not been accused of any wrongdoing relating to Epstein, and in a previous statement, said that he “unequivocally condemn[ed] the conduct attributed to Jeffrey Epstein and everyone who participated in his illegal activities”.
For Andriesz, the “personal consequences of whistleblowing” were “devastating”, he wrote in a post on Twitter/X in August. But he also hinted that his efforts were not yet over, adding that he “intend[ed] to share more of the evidence and the story behind what happened”.
His death has prompted calls from MPs for an investigation into the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), as Andriesz had previously claimed that the watchdog “took no effective action to protect” him, with the consequences impacting his “career, health, finances and family”. The FCA, meanwhile, has revealed that a new board member, Lea Paterson, will be tasked with reviewing how they dealt with the case, “to learn any lessons for the future”.
The passing of perhaps the most prominent Epstein accuser, Virginia Giuffre, made headlines around the world last April, after her family revealed that she had died by suicide at the age of 41. “Virginia was a fierce warrior in the fight against sexual abuse and sex trafficking,” her family said. “In the end, the toll of abuse is so heavy it became unbearable for Virginia to bear its weight”.
Giuffre claimed that she was recruited by Epstein’s associate Ghislaine Maxwell as a teenager, and that she was later trafficked and forced to have sex with Epstein and his friends. She also accused Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor of sexual abuse, which the former Prince has always strenuously denied, and the case was later settled out of court in 2023 for an undisclosed sum; the settlement involved no admission of guilt.
