- Val Broeksmit, the adopted son of the Deutsche Bank executive William Broeksmit, who died in 2014, has handed a trove of confidential bank records to FBI agents, The New York Times reported on Tuesday.
- Val Broeksmit reportedly found the documents among his father’s possessions after his death.
- Broeksmit has also spoken with House Intelligence Committee investigators probing President Donald Trump’s ties to the bank, the report said.
- Trump’s ties to Deutsche Bank are being scrutinized by lawmakers and federal investigators seeking information on the president’s tax returns and other financial affairs.
- Trump has long denied any wrongdoing.
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The son of a Deutsche Bank executive who died by suicide in 2014 has been cooperating with FBI agents investigating the bank and has spoken to a congressional committee investigating President Donald Trump’s ties to the financial giant, The New York Times reported.
The Times’ David Enrich on Tuesday published a profile of Val Broeksmit, 43, the adopted son of William Broeksmit. According to the report, after William Broeksmit’s death, Val Broeksmit discovered a trove of bank records – including minutes of board meetings, spreadsheets, and financial plans – in his father’s email account.
After sharing some files with journalists and federal investigators, Broeksmit earlier this year went to a party where he met the musician Moby, who introduced him to his friend Adam Schiff, the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, which is investigating Trump’s ties to Deutsche Bank.
Broeksmit reportedly demanded money for sharing the documents with the committee but was refused. Schiff subsequently subpoenaed Broeksmit for the documents.
Around this time, Broeksmit shared the files with the FBI and became a cooperating witness in its investigation, The Times said.
In return for the information, the FBI gave Broeksmit what The Times described as a "special advisory title" and helped his French girlfriend obtain a US visa.
A spokesman for Deutsche Bank did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The White House also did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Trump's ties to Deutsche Bank have been scrutinized by the House Intelligence and Financial Services committees, which are seeking information about the president's tax returns - which he has long withheld from the public - and whether he was compromised by criminal money.
The German financial giant was fined more than $600 million in 2017 for its role in a Russian money-laundering scheme, and it was fined $16 million in August to settle charges that it hired family members of foreign officials with whom it sought to gain favor.
Trump has denied any wrongdoing and has claimed that he can't release his tax returns because they under audit by the IRS.