INTRODUCTION Contributed by: Eric Bruce and Justin Simeone, Freshfields US LLP
Singaporean, South African, and Swiss authori - ties. Expanding policy initiatives to expand whistle-blower protections Against the backdrop of these legislative and policy developments, there has been a notable push to strengthen whistle-blower incentives and protections in Europe and the United States. In 2019, the EU Whistle-Blowing Directive established new protections for whistle-blowers who report breaches of EU law. In July 2024, the European Commission announced that all member states had transposed the Directive’s main provisions in their domestic law. Despite some delays in transposition, the Directive has generated significant domestic legal reforms. For example, in 2023, Austria, Germany, Italy, and Spain all enacted domestic laws that secure protection of whistle-blowers. As required by the Directive, common features of these laws include: • clearly established reporting channels for internal, external, and public reporting; • heightened whistle-blower protections that prevent retaliation and ensure confidentiality; and • increased sanctions for employers that harm whistle-blowing by obstructing communica - tion, failing to maintain confidentiality, allow - ing retaliation, and similar actions. Beyond the EU region, authorities in the United States have since taken significant steps that are designed to further incentivise whistle-blowers in the anti-bribery and corruption space. Since 2011, the Securities and Exchange Com - mission (SEC) has operated a whistle-blower programme that entitles qualifying individuals to
a portion of the penalties collected in a result - ing enforcement action, leading the SEC to pay nearly USD600 million in awards and receive 18,000 whistle-blower tips in fiscal year 2023 alone. In April 2024, the DOJ announced a similar Corporate Whistleblower Awards Pilot Program, which will entitle non-culpable individuals to receive a portion of assets that result from suc - cessful prosecutions involving criminal or civil forfeitures. It also announced a Pilot Program on Voluntary Self-Disclosure for Individuals, which offers culpable individuals who co-operate with DOJ investigations discretionary grants of immunity, and entry into non-prosecution agree - ments. Since that time, several US Attorney’s Offices – including those in the Southern District of New York and the Northern District of Califor - nia – have implemented similar programmes that allow whistle-blowers to receive non-prosecu - tion agreements, even if those whistle-blowers were involved in the underlying misconduct. Importantly, the new US whistle-blower pro - grammes complement other recent DOJ poli - cies that offer significant penalty reductions for companies that disclose new information that DOJ authorities have not already received from others. By design, these dual policies set up a potential race to disclose between companies and individual whistle-blowers. As Lisa Mona - co, DOJ Deputy Attorney General, summarised in her March 2024 remarks: “[O]ur message to whistle-blowers is clear: the Department of Justice wants to hear from you. And to those considering a voluntary self-disclosure, our mes - sage is equally clear: knock on our door before we knock on yours.” Conclusion As these highlights illustrate, anti-bribery and corruption efforts remain at the top of the agenda for government enforcement agencies
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