The U.S Security and Exchange Commission debunks myths on whistleblowers

Whistleblower program is surely one of the most debated method to fight corruption and anticompetitive behaviours. All around the world several countries have had, and still have problems to implement it. Since it was created, the program has been branded as too aggressive and criticized for undermining corporations’ internal reports. In this respect, the U.S SEC have addressed to critics publishing figures and features of awards’ recipients of 2016, underlying how approximately 80% of them raised concerns internally to supervisors or compliance personnel, or understood these personnel were aware of the violations, before bringing their concerns to the SEC.1 Moreover, in fiscal year 2016 almost 25% of award recipients reported their concerns anonymously, which is the best protection against retaliation and potential blacklisting, as SEC want to stress.

Last but not least, in order to give an answer to those who accuse the program to be too aggressive, could be instructive to report the declaration of Assistant Attorney General Lanny Breuer, which speaking at the national conference on the FCPA said: “I am aware that, for some of you, as we have become more aggressive, you have become more worried. I want to tell you this afternoon that you are right to be more concerned.”2

By Oliviero Papa

1Jordan A. Thomas, “The SEC received 4,200 whistleblower tips in FY2016, 238 about the FCPA”, 2016 available at http://www.fcpablog.com/blog/2016/11/18/jordan-thomas-the-sec-received-4200-whistleblower-tips-in-fy.html

2 Lanny A. Bruer, Assistant Attorney General, Dep’t of Justice, Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Bruer Speaks at the 24th National Conference on the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, Dep’t of Justice
available at http://www.justice.gov/criminal/pr/speeches/2010/crm-speech-101116.html.