BLUEPRINT REPORT SERIES Gaps in the System: Whistleblower Laws in the EU www.blueprintforfreespeech.net BLUEPRINT REPORT SERIES REPORT TWO Gaps in the System: Whistleblower Laws in the EU Author: Mark Worth Co-Authors: Dr Suelette Dreyfus, Garreth Hanley Design: Garreth Hanley © 2018 Blueprint for Free Speech All rights reserved. Any unauthorized reprint or use of this material is prohibited. Please contact us for permission if you would like to reprint this material:
[email protected] Or via our web contact form: www.blueprintforfreespeech.net TABLE OF CONTENTS PREFACE 4 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 6 THE WHISTLEBLOWER PROTECTION SYSTEM 8 STANDARDS 11 CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 41 APPENDICES 44 WHISTLEBLOWER STANDARDS 50 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 51 ENDNOTES 52 Preface The Opportunity Cost of Failing to Protect Whistleblowers Corruption experts agree that whistleblowing is one of the most effective ways to expose fraud. More useful information on financial crimes is frequently unearthed and reported by employees and citizens than by managers, accountants, police and surveillance combined. Worldwide, whistleblowers have saved many lives, helped recover billions of dollars in stolen and wasted funds, preserved environmental resources, and protected communities from public health dangers. To name just a few: · UBS banker Bradley Birkenfeld helped authorities in several countries recover at least USD 10 billion by exposing one of the world’s largest tax evasion schemes. · The anonymous “Panama Papers” whistleblower disclosed 11.5 million documents on 215,000 offshore companies, implicating prominent political and business figures in dozens of countries worldwide. · Biochemist Jeffrey Wigand exposed how a major tobacco company was lying about the addictiveness of cigarettes, manipulating the strength of nicotine in tobacco, and adding flavour enhancers that cause cancer.