Former ABN Amro board member found dead

Huibert Boumeester, the former chief financial officer of Dutch bank ABN Amro, was found dead in the woods outside the British village of Winkfield, newspaper the Daily Mail reported on Sunday, citing unidentified sources.

According to the tabloid, Boumeester (49) is believed to have shot himself in the head. A police spokesperson, however, said that it was not certain if Boumeester is indeed the person found in Winkfield.

"Police are currently at the scene of an unexplained death. They discovered the body of a man who is believed to have died from gunshot wounds. It is too early at this stage to speculate or confirm the man's identity," the police said.

Boumeester, a Dutchman who lived in London, was reported missing on June 22 when he failed to show up for an appointment with a headhunter. Police said Boumeester had been 'feeling down of late', since losing his job at ABN Amro after that bank was bought and divided up by a consortium of foreign banks last year. Boumeester had worked for ABN Amro for 20 years before he was made redundant.

When reporting him missing last week, police said they feared for his safety. Boumeester - an avid hunter - owned six licenced firearms, but police were only able to account for four of them.