Jeffrey Epstein, Howard Lutnick, and the disgraced former prince

**Tristan Redmond** (0:00)
Hi there, it's Tristan Redmond, one of the hosts of the Global Story Podcast from the BBC. And as a bonus for your feed, we're bringing you one of our best episodes of the week.
Months on from the release of the Epstein files, it turns out there were still more revelations to come. In this episode, we heard about a whistleblower who unearthed new evidence suggesting that the US. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick failed to disclose a business relationship with the paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein. The story was part of an exclusive BBC investigation. And if you find this interesting, then every weekday we tell one story where the world and America meet. This week, we also heard from the US broadcaster Roger Bennett, host of the Men in Blazers soccer podcast about how this World Cup has changed America.

**Roger Bennett** (0:48)
I have not slept thinking about 39 days, but we'll sleep after the final and to see this nation come alive in a way I think America really needed in this moment. And to make memories along the way has been has been really profound. Yeah, but I'm barely standing out right now.

**Tristan Redmond** (1:08)
You can find that and much more by searching for The Global Story wherever you get your podcasts. Now on to the show.
Back in February, the BBC's Andy Verity was at his desk combing through millions of newly released documents.

**Andy Verity** (1:23)
When the Epstein files came out, I like others was tasked with going through these files. And I spotted something rather familiar when I searched for Lutnick.

**Tristan Redmond** (1:35)
And he was looking for any files that referenced the US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick.

**Andy Verity** (1:41)
When I searched for Lutnick, more than 250 documents come up. He's in the files more than 250 times.
And going through all of those, I came across one which was the record of an interview that was given to the FBI. And I looked at the allegations and they sounded strangely familiar. I've been hearing them for years.

**Tristan Redmond** (2:00)
He spotted the name of one of his sources.

**Andy Verity** (2:02)
I realised that actually what I've been hearing from the whistleblower had real substance to it. Then we found out something more involving not just Lutnick, not just Epstein, but also our very own Andrew Mountbatten-Winter.

**Tristan Redmond** (2:22)
In an exclusive BBC investigation, a whistleblower gives his first interview revealing how he unearthed evidence suggesting that Howard Lutnick failed to disclose a business relationship with dead paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein. From the BBC, I'm Tristan Redmond in London. And today on The Global Story, Howard Lutnick, Jeffrey Epstein and the disgraced former prince.
Andy Verity, Financial Investigations Correspondent with the BBC, great to have you back on the show.

**Andy Verity** (3:02)
Good to be here.

**Tristan Redmond** (3:03)
How did you hear about this story?

**Andy Verity** (3:06)
Well, it's one of those stories where you've been thinking of doing it for years and years, but it's not quite there. So a man named Simon Andriesz, who's at the centre of our story, he's a British whistleblower.
We've just walked down a narrow path over a dune to be confronted by a spectacular sight here in Morgan Porth on the north coast of Cornwall, the Atlantic. So why did you come to Cornwall, Simon?

**Simon Andriesz** (3:38)
Andy, well, this is a place my wife and I used to come down to.

**Andy Verity** (3:42)
He now lives in Cornwall.

**Tristan Redmond** (3:44)
In South West England.

**Andy Verity** (3:45)
In South West England.

**Simon Andriesz** (3:46)
I'm a big ocean swimmer. Yeah, I do a lot of ocean swimming.
It's been great for the mental health.

**Andy Verity** (3:53)
Where he's recuperating because of a traumatic 10 years, trying to expose malpractice and misconduct at his former employer.

**Simon Andriesz** (4:02)
I would have flashbacks to incidents that had happened in the past. They're called dissociative seizures, where I was developing like a head movement, like your head shaking.

**Andy Verity** (4:12)
And what have the doctors told you about what's caused that?

**Simon Andriesz** (4:15)
That's due to the intense ordeal I've been through. I would say the retaliation I've endured for 10 years.

**Andy Verity** (4:24)
Retaliation for what?

**Simon Andriesz** (4:25)
For my whistleblower.

**Andy Verity** (4:27)
I've been talking to him for five years. He was introduced to me by a colleague in 2021 and told me things he knew about Howard Lutnick and Jeffrey Epstein and the Royals. And of course I was interested, but I also didn't feel it was quite there in terms of the levels of proof we needed in order to show any links. But this year with the Epstein files, all that changed. So I went back to him, I said, did you know you're in the Epstein files? It turns out that an interview he gave to the FBI in 2020 and 21 where he was making some of these allegations was also in the Epstein files and his name had been unredacted. So he was there against his wishes. So I thought, what if his name's out there anyway now? No point staying anonymous and convinced him to give us an interview.