Valentin Broeksmit, the whistleblower who investigated Deutsche Bank and its ties to former President Donald Trump, was found dead east of Lincoln Park, Los Angeles, police said Tuesday.
45-year-old Broeksmit, who described himself on his Twitter bio as a “comically terrible spy,” is believed to have worked with US federal authorities investigating the activities of Deutsche Bank and its ties with former President Donald Trump.
Broeksmit was discovered unresponsive at 7:00 a.m. on the campus of a Los Angeles high school in the 4500 block of Multnomah Street. Broeksmit’s death is being investigated as an undetermined death, according to Los Angeles County Police Department Public Information Officer Alba Mendez.
Broeksmit was the son of a former Deutsche Bank executive. Over the past few years, he shared his late father’s internal bank documents with federal authorities and the media as part of investigations into money laundering allegations against the German bank.
Broeksmit was last seen driving a red Mini Cooper on the afternoon of April 6, 2021, on Riverside Drive and was later reported missing by relatives, Los Angeles police said.
His vehicle was found, the department said, but Broeksmit remained missing. Perez said Wednesday that he appeared to be homeless.
According to a 2019 profile in The New York Times, Broeksmit was a musician and the son of a Deutsche Bank executive who died by suicide in 2014.
After his father’s death, Broeksmit gained access to his father’s email account and found hundreds of files related to the bank, including board meeting minutes, financial plans, spreadsheets, and password-protected presentations, the newspaper reported.
More details of this story from AWM:
Journalist Scott Stedman of the website Forensic News turned to Twitter to explain that the last time he had spoken to the whistleblower.
“He supplied me and other journalists with Deutsche Bank documents that highlighted the bank’s deep Russian connection,” wrote Stedman. “I don’t suspect foul play. Val struggled with drugs on and off.”
Broeksmit’s stepfather, William, served as an executive with Deutsche Bank until he took his own life in 2014, according to a report from ABC10 News.
Stedman said that Broeksmit’s stepfather’s suicide haunted him and “consumed Val in recent years.” He added, “To see his life end so short is incredibly depressing.”
When the man’s death was first reported, New York Times reporter David Enrich told RawStory that “this is terrible news.” He identified Broeksmit as a “longtime source” and the “main character” of the book that he is currently writing, which is entitled “Dark Towers: Deutsche Bank, Donald Trump and an Epic Trail of Destruction.”
Enrich admitted that Broeksmit struggled with drugs and did have the tendency to exaggerate the truth for the sake of a good story and would come up with “far-fetched theories.”
Enrich said, “We had a complicated relationship, but this is just devastating to hear.”
Sourced: AWM, Independent, The New York Times