The need for whistleblowers is greater than ever. In the U.K. and U.S. laws are beginning to take shape after the trillion dollar cost of the coronavirus pandemic makes their value impossible to ignore.
Whistleblowers undoubtedly play a part in shaping the world we live in. With the current coronavirus pandemic in mind, there’s a growing argument that they need help in dealing with the loss of earnings, career, reputation and self-confidence whenever a public interest threshold is met for a whistleblower’s revelations.But more often than not, informants live a much poorer life once the whistle is blown.
The Office, the first of its kind in the world, would have the powers to meet whistleblowers and act as a point of contact for individuals who wish to make a disclosure. Within the office would be a panel of 20 or more legal representatives to “to advise and support whistleblowers” while financial obligations would come from a specialist “fund” for individuals whose disclosure is deemed, by the Office, to have harmed their employment, reputation or career.that despite the U.K.
Signs of change are moving through the system already. Just a fortnight ago a former partner at London-based global accountancy giant EY walked away from the U.K.’s High Court with $10 million compensation after he blew the whistle on billions of dollars’ worth of cash transactions and moroccan gold deals that had passed EY’s audit without proper “due diligence.
After a tangle with the Dubai regulator, a government body called the Dubai Metals and Commodities Centre who “put improper pressure on the claimant and EY ... to do its reporting work in a way that would reduce to vanishing point the visibility of the Morocco gold and cash transactions issues,” Rihan resigned in 2014, “fearing for his and his family’s safety.”Like many whistleblowers, Rihan was vindicated after Kaloti’s practices became public knowledge in a later audit by another leading firm.
For Halford-Hall, Amjad Rihan’s case was entirely avoidable. And legislation is the best way to nudge firms towards embracing a different approach to those looking to speak out. Should they be paid, or incentivised? For Halford-Hall, “Paying is not the correct route it encourages people to make a career of seeking out or even manufacturing whistleblowing.” Although unscrupulous characters often surface, genuine whistleblowers that she meets certainly don’t “do it for money.”
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