BBC Investigation Raises Questions Over Howard Lutnick's Reported Epstein Business Ties

A British businessman has told the BBC that he uncovered evidence suggesting his former employer, U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, did not disclose a past business relationship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, Andy Verity, Rob Byrne, and Ben Milne reported for BBC News.

U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick is the subject of new scrutiny following a BBC investigation into previously undisclosed documents. (Photo: The White House)

Simon Andriesz, a former managing director at a Wall Street firm, said he found a 2018 email exchange among millions of released Epstein-related documents.

According to Andriesz, the emails showed Lutnick and Epstein discussing the prospects of a startup business in which both were involved.

Andriesz said he shared the documents with members of the U.S. House Oversight Committee before Lutnick's appearance before the panel in May.

During his testimony, Lutnick told lawmakers that, to the best of his knowledge, he had only learned this year that Epstein had been an investor in the company.

Responding on Lutnick's behalf, the U.S. Commerce Department told the BBC there was no evidence of wrongdoing.

Andriesz also said he found documents indicating that one of Lutnick's companies had considered a business venture in 2013 involving Prince Andrew, then the UK's trade envoy.

According to Andriesz, the proposal included a £1 million loan intended to capitalize on the prince's international contacts.

"What it involved was a loan to Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor of £1 million... to basically buy a prince," Andriesz said in an interview with File on 4 Investigates.