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Whistleblower schemes gain support
Schemes from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the EU to encourage whistleblowers are likely to deter some frauds and speed up the detection of others, according to specialist lawyers.
SEC and EU schemes to encourage whistleblowers are likely to deter some frauds and speed up the detection of others. BlueSkyImage
The numbers of whistleblowers coming forward are dramatically rising - from 334 in the SEC scheme’s first six months to 3,001 in 2012 and to 3,238 in 2013. Catherine Botticelli of Dechert says she was sceptical about the SEC scheme at first but, recently asked if detection would occur at an earlier rate, she replied: ‘That has got to be true. If you have an insider willing to feed you information, that is extremely helpful.’
Success story
Jordan Thomas, a partner in Labaton Sucharow, said of the SEC scheme: ‘The programme has been a remarkable success story. One of the greatest fears for whistleblowers is the fear of retaliation and blacklisting where people in your industry shun you.’ Source: Financial Times
