MH17 crash: Whistleblower has come forward with information, claims private detective

Detective says that £30 million reward has been claimed by an anonymous informant

298 people lost their lives when the plane was shot down (Getty)

A whistleblower has come forward with information about flight MH17, a German private detective has claimed.

298 passengers and crew on the Malaysia Airlines aircraft died when it crashed in Ukraine last July.

US officials have said that there is a "solid case" that the plane was shot down by a missile fired by pro-Russian forces in the region. They have suggested that the rebels mistook the commercial aircraft for a military plane and shot it down in confusion.

However, the Russian government has denied any involvement and instead suggested that a Ukrainian military plane had flown within firing range of the Malaysian Airline flight shortly before the crash. The Ukrainian government denies this.

Detective Josef Resch says that he was hired by an unnamed client to find out what had really happened to the flight. He says that his client offered a reward worth $47 million, or £30 million, for information about the tragedy and that an unnamed person has now come forward with information to claim the cash.

However, Mr Resch has refused to reveal who his informant is or what information he has uncovered.

He also says that he does not know the identity of his client as all their dealings were conducted through a Swiss middleman.

He told Germany’s Capital magazine: “Our clients have got all the information they wanted to get, so my job is finished.”

“I expect something will happen very soon. Anyone who pays that kind of money for information does not keep it to himself.”

However, he later expressed misgivings, telling Spiegel magazine: “I have a request- that my client makes the information public. But I have a fear it will be handled internally.”