New summary produced by Claude AI
A former Wall Street executive has disclosed evidence indicating that Howard Lutnick, currently serving as US commerce secretary, did not properly reveal business dealings with Jeffrey Epstein, the late financier convicted of sex crimes.
Simon Andriesz, a British national who previously worked as a managing director at a financial firm, located email correspondence from 2018 in the released Epstein files showing that Lutnick and Epstein discussed a digital advertising company called Adfin in which both had financial stakes. Andriesz provided this documentation to members of the House Oversight Committee before Lutnick’s appearance before that body in May. During his testimony, Lutnick stated that he was unaware until this year that Epstein held an investment position in the venture. The Commerce Department responded by stating no evidence of wrongdoing exists.
Andriesz’s investigation of the Epstein files also uncovered records describing a proposed business arrangement from 2013 between Lutnick’s firm, Cantor Fitzgerald, and then-Prince Andrew, involving a substantial loan to Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor. The plan reportedly aimed to leverage the former UK trade envoy’s contacts for commercial purposes, though the arrangement ultimately did not materialize.
Andriesz previously worked at BGC Partners, part of the Cantor Fitzgerald group, where he raised accounting concerns in 2016 and was subsequently dismissed in 2017. His allegations ultimately contributed to BGC receiving a $3 million penalty from US regulators for supervision and record-keeping violations. The firm has disputed Andriesz’s credibility and denied his allegations. After speaking to the FBI about BGC and Lutnick in 2020-21, Andriesz’s claims regarding undisclosed connections between Lutnick and Epstein were not pursued by investigators.
Lutnick appointed to his current position in 2025, previously stated he had met Epstein only once approximately 20 years prior and found his conduct objectionable. However, photographs discovered in the released files showed the two men together on Epstein’s Caribbean property in December 2012. Democratic members of the House Oversight Committee questioned Lutnick’s testimony and jointly demanded his resignation, while the Commerce Department characterized the allegations as a political distraction.