Under the entry into force of the Whistleblower Protection Directive, it is the task of Whistleblowers to expose illegal procedures in the workplace. Many employees are concerned about signaling a breach because of potential repercussions or retaliation. Below we present the stories of the most famous Whistleblowers, whose cases significantly influenced the implementation of the Whistleblower Protection Directive and the clarification of the provisions.
Edward Snowden
One of the most famous Whistleblowers in history, known as the American Whistleblower. As a CIA employee and employed by Dell and Booz Allen Hamilton, he disclosed several hundred thousand secret and confidential NSA documents. The case was considered to be the largest leak of such vital information in US history.
Snowden's disclosures were so big and conducted on such an enormous scale that for some time he was suspected of cooperation with other countries, but the person himself firmly denied these speculations. Due to his activities, he has been charged with criminal charges in several countries, which the European Parliament ordered to withdraw in 2015. The justification contains information about granting Edward the status of a person reporting violations in good faith and defending human rights at the international level.
Snowden was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2013 for his activities as the Whistleblower, reporting such large irregularities as American surveillance, for his significant and heroic contribution to national and international good at the expense of personal sacrifice.
Harry Markopolos
American lawyer and former executive director of securities, who also dealt with disclosing financial frauds as an investigator. Between 1999 and 2008, he discovered and exposed incriminating evidence on the financier Bernie Madoff, who committed one of the greatest financial scams in Wall Street history. He created a financial pyramid that grossed nearly $ 65 billion and was not caught by the authorities for several years.
Markopolos conducted a private inquiry, but at first, they were unwilling to listen to him and his reports were ignored due to the fact that Whistleblower duties were not so well known and protected at the time. Today, he is considered one of the first world-recognized Whistleblowers whose actions, determination, and persistence led to Madoff's sentence of over 100 years in prison.
Howard Wilkinson
Former employee of the Danske Bank office in Estonia who discovered a massive money laundering scandal in 2007-2014. At that time, more than $230 billion was defrauded, which flowed from Russia to the US through the Estonian branch of Danske Bank.
Until 2018, the institution did not respond to these allegations. This changed with Howard Wilkinson's anonymous disclosure, which significantly violated his right to protection as a Whistleblower. At that time, there was no directive in force that would protect Whistleblowers from retaliation, and therefore it did not have any privileges and protection. Ultimately, however, the fraud was exposed and Danske Bank suffered the consequences.
Paweł Szczygieł
A former employee of the US company Cargill, was dismissed disciplinary due to the fact that he did not agree to the mistreatment of employees and concealment of accidents at work. The unacceptable behavior of the corporation consisted in blocking the actions of employees, such as the formation of a trade union by them. What's more, the superiors were vulgar about their subordinates, and the management refused to raise increases.
Paweł Szczygieł decided to fight for his and his co-workers' rights, therefore, through the internal channel, he reported to the employer the irregularities he had witnessed. After he was unjustly dismissed in a disciplinary manner, he went to court, where he won the case and received PLN 20,000 in compensation.
Overall, the introduction of the Whistleblower Protection Directive has contributed to increasing the protection of Whistleblowers. Currently, they can signal violations using an internal reporting channel, such as the Whistleblower system, without fear of potential retaliation, as they are protected by international regulations.
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