Deutsche Bank whistleblower found dead in LA after being reported missing

The key federal informant was reported missing in April 2021

Valentin Broeksmit, the reputed federal informant best known as the Deutsche Bank whistleblower who helped expose the company's criminal misconduct and links to Donald Trump, has been found dead at the age of 46. Broeksmit's body was found around 7am local time on the campus of Woodrow Wilson High School in LA on Monday, according to the Los Angeles County coroner's office, after having been declared missing for over a year. His supposed disappearance was reported on April 6, 2021, but his social media account had remained active and as per ABC 10News San Diego, the Ukrainian-born American had kept in touch with close friends and a select few journalists - some as recently as January - and had been considered "homeless" by local authorities. https://twitter.com/BikiniRobotArmy/status/1511340327893966852?s=20&t=k1wuWFSBRSmGTdLV3t7B9A While an autopsy is yet to determine the cause of death, Los Angeles Police Captain Kenneth Cabrera told the Los Angeles Times that they do not currently suspect any foul play. Scott Stedman, an investigative journalist for Forensic News, wrote on Twitter that he doesn't believe there is anything suspicious about his death either, adding that as well as his father's suicide, Broeksmit had "struggled with drugs on and off" for some time. Meanwhile, Rocco Castoro of The Knows claims the whistleblower and self-described "comically terrible spy" had passed on information from his adopted father - a former DB exec who took his own life prior to the scandal - regarding a number of senior Russian bankers and bosses said to be in place across the world. https://twitter.com/rocco_castoro/status/1519424885310717952?s=20&t=k1wuWFSBRSmGTdLV3t7B9A Following his step-father William's suicide, 'Val' gained access to hundreds of documents regarding Deutsche Bank's dealings, including board meeting minutes, financial plans, spreadsheets and password-protected presentations, as per his piece in the New York Times.

Amid ongoing investigations at the time, Broeksmit went on to supply said documents to the FBI, journalists and other entities like Fusion GPS: the research firm linked to the now-infamous albeit unverified Trump dossier, which included details of how the bank fudged audits of the former president's finances, dishing out numerous loans despite defaults and securing Russian investors.

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Even after all their lending, Trump went on to sue them in an attempt to cover up the true nature of their relationship after he was asked to hand over his financial records to Congress.

David Enrich, the reporter who wrote the profile Broeksmit's NYT profile and the 2020 book, Dark Towers: Deutsche Bank, Donald Trump, and an Epic Trail of Destruction, said on Twitter that despite having "a complicated relationship... this is just devastating to hear." As Castoro (who had been filming a documentary about Val) goes on to explain in his lengthy thread, he has numerous reasons that suggest there is more to the informant's death, including the wrong dates being filed on his initial missing persons report.