International Transparency and the Protection of Informants and Whistleblowers

Defining True Transparency Through Protection

In combatting corruption, transparency laws that do not also provide for strong whistleblower protections are misleading and, in many cases, counterproductive. There can be no true international transparency without full protection for those willing to risk their careers and safety to report violations of anti-corruption laws.

The issue is not simply whether a law or policy promotes international “transparency” in name. The real issue is whether persons with information regarding corrupt activities—such as violations of the Bank Secrecy Act, money laundering, tax evasion, or foreign bribery—can safely report these crimes.

Governments and corporations that hide facts related to corrupt activities are not transparent, regardless of any rhetoric to the contrary. Countries where whistleblowers face retaliation with no realistic means to protect themselves are not transparent. Furthermore, countries without a means for citizens to report corrupt activities among government officials or large corporations can never be truly democratic.

If transparency is to have any meaning at all, it must guarantee the right of the people to learn the truth about leaders who bribe, cheat, steal, launder funds, or profit from corruption.

The Gap Between Proven Laws and Implementation

Over the past 30-years the legal protections necessary to create transparency related to international corruption have been pioneered, and their effectiveness confirmed by empirical evidence.  The procedures and tactics are now well known within the law enforcement communities, yet most State Parties are completely resistant to implementing these incredibly important tools. 

Moreover, most human rights defenders, non-governmental organizations, and investigative journalists are unaware of these laws, and how they have been used to radically increase transparency and expose many of the largest international corruption cases in history. 

The Proposal: “Enhancing Money Laundering and Foreign Bribery Prosecutions”

To ensure that true international transparency is accomplished, and to reject face-saving solutions that have proven ineffective, the National Whistleblower Center and International Whistleblower Advocates, in conjunction with successful transnational whistleblower attorneys, have drafted a proposal for the United Nations Conference of State Parties (CoSP 11), responsible for implementing the UN Convention Against Corruption (“UNCAC”).

This proposal, “Enhancing Money Laundering and Foreign Bribery Prosecutions,” is based on current laws that have resulted in the strongest protections for international whistleblowers. Thousands of international whistleblowers have been able to file confidential information concerning foreign bribery, tax evasion, money laundering, and violations of other anti-corruption laws. The identities of these thousands of informants have been fully protected. Moreover, where whistleblowers have followed the correct procedures to obtain coverage, and where their information has resulted in a successful prosecution, they have been fully compensated.

In fact, since the first transnational anti-corruption/whistleblower protection laws were passed in 2010, numerous non-U.S. citizens have obtained significant compensation for reporting corrupt activities occurring outside the United States. The attorneys working with the National Whistleblower Center and International Whistleblower Advocates alone have obtained over $60 million in compensation for non-U.S. citizens who reported foreign bribery committed outside the U.S. by companies not headquartered in the United States.

Overall, these attorneys have obtained $450 million in compensation for whistleblowers who reported corrupt activities committed by non-U.S. companies. All these cases resulted in true international transparency, exposing the corrupt actors to the citizens of the world and confirming that these companies and individuals could be held accountable under the law.

“Enhancing Money Laundering and Foreign Bribery Prosecutions” is based on objective empirical data setting forth precisely how true international transparency can be introduced as a tool for combatting transnational crimes. It explains the precise procedures and laws that need to be implemented. It also calls upon State Parties and NGOs to engage in international educational programming to ensure that whistleblowers, human rights defenders, investigative journalists, and other interested persons understand these laws and procedures.

Key Procedures for Ensuring International Transparency
Whistleblower laws that promote international transparency and enable enforcement agencies to obtain the evidence necessary to hold corrupt actors accountable include the following procedures: 

• Strong confidentiality rules and the right to file claims anonymously;
• Mandatory compensation paid from the proceeds collected from fines and penalties from cases triggered by the whistleblower disclosures;
• Due process for whistleblowers so they can ensure that they are protected and compensated;
• Procedures that permit representatives from NGOs and investigative journalists to benefit from these laws;
• Instituting policies that permit the sanctions and fines obtained from successful cases to be donated to human rights organizations and journalists dedicated to expanding and enforcing anti-corruption laws.

It is time to stop accepting half-measures that have failed to stop money laundering, bribery, and corrupt activities!

It is time to demand that State Parties follow the requirements of the UN Convention Against Corruption to enact and enforce effective anti-corruption laws!

It is time to ensure true international transparency by protecting, incentivizing, and rewarding those with the courage to give teeth to the transparency needed to prosecute corrupt actors!