An informant who aided federal investigators with key documents and information about the German financial company Deutsche Bank and aided in a probe into former President Trump’s dealings with the bank was found dead in Los Angeles County on Monday.
Valentin Broeksmit, 46, was confirmed deceased by the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner. His cause of death at this moment is under investigation.
His body was found in the early morning hours on Monday at Woodrow Wilson High School, according to the Los Angeles Times. There was no evidence of foul play, police told the outlet.
Broeksmit was reported as missing by the Los Angeles Police Department in April 2021 and last seen driving a 2020 red Mini Cooper, which was later recovered without Broeksmit inside.
Broeksmit was the son of the late Deutsche Bank senior executive Bill Broeksmit, who died by suicide in 2014.
Valentin Broeksmit had a trove of bank documents and cooperated with the FBI amid an investigation into the financial giant over alleged money laundering operations and other fraud allegations.
The Department of Justice ultimately fined Deutsche Bank $130 million in January 2021. The House Intelligence Committee also subpoenaed Broeksmit to testify about the bank’s dealings with Trump.
Scott Stedman, a reporter for Forensic News who worked with Broeksmit to uncover Deutsche Bank’s connections to Russia, said he didn’t suspect foul play in the death of his friend.
“Val’s father took his own life in 2014 and it consumed Val in recent years. To see his life end so short is incredibly depressing,” Stedman wrote on Twitter. “Rest easy.”