International Whistleblowers

United Nations to Increase Whistleblower Protections

By the C|C Whistleblower Lawyer Team As reported in UN News Centre, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres approved an updated United Nations whistleblower policy designed to better protect whistleblowers who report misconduct or cooperate with official audits or investigations. According to UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric, the major changes include:

• The Ethics Office and Office of Internal...

South Korean President One-Ups Trump with Creepy Shadow Puppet-Master

By the C|C Whistleblower Lawyer Team South Korea’s president, Park Geun-hye, whose approval rating has fallen to a historically-low five percent, has been named a suspect in a criminal fraud investigation. The scandal, which has caused the resignation of ten senior aides to President Park, centers on the president’s childhood friend, Choi Soon-sil. Soon-sil is the daughter of a man the president has...

Calling All FCPA Whistleblowers—The SEC Wants You

By Sarah Poppy Alexander The SEC is signaling loud and clear that it is eager to receive whistleblower information about FCPA violations. The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) prohibits companies with ties to the U.S. from bribing foreign officials to gain business favor or advantage overseas.  Those caught doing so risk stiff civil and criminal penalties, often in the eight- and nine-figure range.  Because...

New South Korean Anti-Corruption Law Spawns the $25.99 Dinner

By Max Voldman A new South Korean anti-corruption law went into effect this week.  The Improper Solicitation and Graft Act will limit the ability of about four million public servants, journalists and teachers to receive gifts. The implementation of this law follows four years of Parliamentary debate and several suits challenging it in the courts. Specifically, the law provides that certain government-employed...

In Their Own Words — Vitaly Stepanov

 -- "IF YOU ARE DOPING IN A SYSTEM THAT IS SIMILAR TO RUSSIA, CONTINUE DOING SO BECAUSE THERE IS NO REASON TO FIGHT IT BECAUSE IN THE END THE IOC WILL SAY THEY WILL NOT PUNISH THE SYSTEM, BUT WE WILL PUNISH THE WHISTLEBLOWER."

Vitaly Stepanov, who with his wife Yulia exposed the Russian Olympic doping scandal, on the International Olympic Committee's dual-refusal to allow Yulia to run in the Rio games as an...

The UK’s new whistleblowing regime going live: UK financial institutions required to appoint a “whistleblowers’ champion”

By Yulia Tosheva On 7 March 2016, the new rule requiring UK deposit-takers (banks, building societies and credit unions), PRA-designated investment firms and insurers to appoint a senior manager as their whistleblowing champion came into force. The whistleblowers’ champion will be responsible for ensuring the integrity, independence and effectiveness of the firm’s policies and procedures on whistleblowing. A...

In Their Own Words — Win

-- They would say, “There's a gun in the boss's car and we're going to come and shoot you, and no one will know.”

Whistleblower Tin Nyo Win describing the threats used to force workers in Thailand to peel and clean shrimp for hours on end.  You can read more about his story and many others like him here.

European Parliament Resolution Provides Hope For The Possibility Of Financial Rewards For European Whistleblowers

By Richard Pike and Yulia Tosheva On 25 November 2015, the European Parliament adopted a resolution on tax rulings which calls on the European Commission to propose, by June 2016, an EU legislative framework for the effective protection of whistleblowers. The European Parliament: Stresses that it is not acceptable that citizens and journalists can be subject to prosecution rather than legal protection when...

A Step in the Right Direction for UK Whistleblowers: Financial Services Regulator Requires Whistleblowing Arrangements Be Beefed Up

By Richard Pike As we announced earlier this week, the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has imposed new rules to promote whistleblowing. This post discusses the new requirements and identifies some shortcomings. Readers outside the UK will need some background to put the new rules in context. The existing whistleblower regime in the UK does not go down the US route of providing financial rewards for...