Asia

Whistleblower Reward Laws in Asia

South Korea – Corruption – Public Interest (Health, Safety, Environment, Consumer Protection, Cartel Investigations)

The Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission (“ACRC”) offers rewards for information provided about corrupt public officials who are making gains by abusing their positions and/or violating laws in connection with their duties.  The ACRC will provide whistleblowers with rewards of up to KRW 3 billion (about $3 million) if their report of corruption contributes directly to the recovery of funds, or the reduction of expenditure for public services.

The ACRC also offers rewards under their Public Interest Program, which covers acts that infringe on the health and safety of the public, the environment, consumer interests and fair competition, among others.  The reward for information which assists in the recovery in revenue can be up to KRW 1 billion (about $1 million).

The Korean Fair Trade Commission has a rewards program for information leading to cartel investigation cases (KRW 2 billion), unfair assistance (KRW 2 billion), and violations of sales activities (KRW 100 million).

South Korea – Tax Programs

South Korea’s Tax Evasion Informant Reward Program and Foreign Financial Account Report Reward Program offer whistleblower rewards for information that leads to successful tax enforcement actions. Under these programs, an individual with “significant information” about South Korean tax law violations can disclose evidence and receive a monetary award between 5% to 20% of the proceeds collected by the National Tax Service that resulted from the informant’s disclosure(s). The NTS defines significant information to include documentation such as bank records or financial statements along with other specific and credible information concerning the person(s) or transaction activities that have violated South Korean tax laws.

Learn more here.

WATCH: National Tax Service Deputy Director Joohyun Baek explains how South Korea rewards tax whistleblowers:

Pakistan – Cartel Investigations – Tax evasion – Corruption (of inland revenue officials)

The Competition Commission of Pakistan has published Guidelines on the Reward Payment to Informants Scheme which deals with antitrust matters.  The scheme involves the payment of rewards ranging from PKR 200,000 to PKR 5 million (around $1,600 to $40,000), calculated by considering the usefulness of the information and the seriousness of the cartel.

A similar scheme was introduced by the Federal Board of Revenue (“FBR”) for whistleblowers on tax evasion, with a focus on corrupt inland revenue officials.  Rewards are set at 20% of the amount evaded if the amount was less than PKR 500,000 (around $4,000).  If the amount evaded was more than PKR 500,000 but less than PKR 1 million (around $8,000) the award will be PKR 100,000 (around $815) plus 10% of the excess over PKR 500,000.  Finally, if the amount evaded was over PKR 1 million, the award will be PKR 150,000 (around $1,200) plus 5% of the excess over PKR 1 million.