Whistleblower Insider Blog

In Their Own Words - Elbasri

-- "SYSTEMATIC MASS RAPE AND OTHER INSTANCES OF VIOLENCE WENT UNREPORTED, UN-INVESTIGATED AND COVERED UP, FORCING ME TO BLOW THE WHISTLE LAST YEAR.... THE CONSPIRACY OF SILENCE OVER DARFUR MUST STOP." Aicha Elbasri, former spokesperson for the United Nations Mission in Darfur, in her letter to the International Criminal Court urging it to re-open its investigation of Sudan’s president Omar al-Bashir for war crimes...

New Report Highlights Effectiveness of Private Sector Whistleblower Programs

By Marlene Koury A recent report shows internal whistleblower reporting programs are getting stronger and more effective.  As companies continue to invest in the development of these programs, whistleblowers are encouraged to report fraud and misconduct, providing higher quality tips than ever before.  But as concerns are being shared in record numbers, the report also notes organizations are often too slow to...

Whistleblower Spotlight -- Darfur Whistleblower Aicha Elbasri

By the C|C Whistleblower Lawyer Team This week's "Whistleblower Spotlight" features Aicha Elbasri, the former spokesperson for the United Nations Mission in Darfur (UNAMID).  She resigned from that post in 2013 after calling out what she describes as the "conspiracy of silence" of UNAMID and the UN in failing to report on the atrocities committed by the Sudanese government against its people: "Systematic mass rape...

Whistleblower News From The Inside - March 11, 2015

By the C|C Whistleblower Lawyer Team North Carolina fines Duke Energy a record $25M over coal ash contamination -- The Duke Energy power plant site has a pair of unlined dumps estimated to hold 2.6 million tons of coal ash which contains arsenic, mercury, lead and other toxic metals which state environmental officials found contaminated local groundwater.  RT Fish and Wildlife whistleblower raises serious questions...

In Their Own Words - Penman

-- "Retaliation is perhaps the one compliance violation most likely to do irreparable damage to a company's culture and employee morale....It stifles transparency, erodes trust in leadership, eliminates future reports and, at its worst, it drives the disenfranchised employee outside the organization and into the arms of regulators."

Carrie Penman, chief compliance officer and senior vice president NAVEX Global, on...

Whistleblower News From The Inside - March 10, 2015

By the C|C Whistleblower Lawyer Team Survey shows increase in proof of whistleblower retaliation – “Companies are substantiating more cases of whistleblower retaliation as the SEC has turned up the heat.”  WSJ Recovery Home Care to pay $1.1M to settle whistleblower charges of illegal kickbacks -- The settlement resolves allegations the Florida-based home healthcare company violated the False Claims Act by...

In Their Own Words - Richards

-- "I don’t think this is because women are inherently more ‘moral’ than men. [Instead, it shows] that gender diversity is a good proxy for more general cognitive diversity....”

Anne Richards, a high-ranking executive at one of the largest investment firms in Europe, on a new study (by MSCI Inc.) showing that “companies that invest in gender diversity at high levels are less likely to fall prey to fraud,...

In Their Own Words - Grassley

-- "Whistleblowers are kind of treated like a skunk at a picnic, and I hope you’ll do all you can to reverse that.”

Senator Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, to FBI Associate Deputy Director Kevin Perkins at a hearing on the FBI’s treatment of whistleblowers. Click here for more.

In Their Own Words - Grassley

--The FBI Senate Judiciary Committee testimony “confirmed that the FBI is not particularly interested in protecting employees who point out fraud, waste and mismanagement.”

Sen. Charles Grassley. Click here for more.

Whistleblower News From The Inside - March 6, 2015

By the C|C Whistleblower Lawyer Team DOJ reviewing civil whistleblower cases for criminal probes -- Top official at the DOJ says authorities are increasingly reviewing civil whistleblower lawsuits against pharmaceutical and medical companies in an effort to build criminal cases. Reuters Senate hearing faults FBI for failure to protect whistleblowers -- During Wednesday’s hearing, Sen. Grassley said “the FBI did...