DECEMBER 2018
NATIONAL WHISTLEBLOWER CENTERÂ End-Of-Year Report
WWW.WHISTLEBLOWERS.ORG
PROTECT WHISTLEBLOWERS SO THAT A GOVERNMENT OF THE PEOPLE, BY THE PEOPLE, AND FOR THE PEOPLE, SHALL NOT PERISH FROM THIS EARTH
The National Whistleblower Center (NWC) has had a busy and successful 2018! The NWC continued its work to strengthen whistleblower protections and incentives, defend whistleblowers’ rights, and educate people at home and abroad about the power of whistleblowers in combating fraud and corruption. A major highlight of 2018 was the Whistleblower Day celebration on July 30th. This year saw an unprecedented turnout of over 200 people. The event was covered by C-Span and all of the major media outlets. The names of each whistleblower in attendance were read aloud to give them individual recognition. We also made a special webpage with their stories. In 2018, the NWC also undertook efforts to prevent major corporate interests from weakening anti-fraud laws and whistleblower rights. Not only did the NWC submit compelling amici briefs to protect whistleblower rights, the NWC also led the charge to oppose proposed rule changes that would undermine the SEC Whistleblower Program.
whistleblower amendments fixing loopholes in the IRS and Dodd-Frank whistleblower reward laws. This major achievement is a result of a three-year campaign. The Global Wildlife Whistleblower Program took off to new heights under the leadership of Managing Director Scott Hajost. The NWC established many important partnerships with NGO’s that work in the areas of wildlife trafficking and conservation. An important development that moved our work forward was a report by the Government Accountability Office finding that the best way to combat the $23 billion per year wildlife trafficking industry is to protect and incentivize whistleblowers. This finding prompted the introduction of the Wildlife Conservation and Anti-Trafficking Act of 2018. The NWC hopes to see this legislation reintroduced and passed in 2019. Every day at the NWC brings another opportunity to push for stronger whistleblower laws here in the U.S. and around the globe. A vehicle we hope to use to drive our message is the NWC’s redesigned website. The new design makes it easier for users to find information about whistleblower laws, request legal assistance and to join the NWC Action Alert Network.
Stephen Kohn, an experienced SEC whistleblower attorney, was invited to testify about the lack of whistleblower protections in the EU. Kohn gave testimony before both the Danish and EU Parliaments On behalf of the NWC, thank you for contributing to an and to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of incredibly successful year! Europe on fighting corruption by incentivizing whistleblowers to report corruption. The Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018, signed into law in February, included two key whistleblower qui tam
Sincerely,
STEPHEN KOHN EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR MARY JANE WILMOTH CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER
10 WHISTLEBLOWER SUCCESSES OF 2018 PROTECTING & INCENTIVIZING
THE U.S. SENATE UNANIMOUSLY PASSED A RESOLUTION DECLARING JULY 30, 2018 AS NATIONAL WHISTLEBLOWER APPRECIATION DAY COMMEMORATING THE PASSAGE OF AMERICA’S FIRST WHISTLEBLOWER LAW AND CELEBRATING THE CONTRIBUTIONS OF WHISTLEBLOWERS TO DEMOCRACY. THE NWC PLAYED A VITAL ROLE IN ESTABLISHING THIS IMPORTANT DAY OF RECOGNITION. THE BIPARTISAN BUDGET ACT OF 2018, PASSED CONGRESS AND INCLUDED TWO KEY WHISTLEBLOWER-RIGHTS AMENDMENTS THAT ENSURE EMPLOYEES WHO BLOW THE WHISTLE ON CRIMINAL TAX FRAUDSTERS ARE COVERED UNDER THE IRS QUI TAM WHISTLEBLOWER LAW, AND TO END THE DOUBLE-TAXATION OF WHISTLEBLOWER AWARDS UNDER THE DODD-FRANK ACT. LANDMARK LEGISLATION FOR WILDLIFE WHISTLEBLOWERS WAS INTRODUCED. THE BIPARTISAN WILDLIFE CONSERVATION AND ANTITRAFFICKING ACT OF 2018 WOULD CREATE A STANDARDIZED PROCESS TO REVIEW WHISTLEBLOWER CASES, ENSURE WHISTLEBLOWERS RECEIVE BETWEEN 15% & 50% OF FUNDS RECOVERED, THE AMOUNT MUST BE DETERMINED WITHIN 90 DAYS OF THE JUDGMENT OR SETTLEMENT. THIS LAW WOULD CREATE STRONG INCENTIVES FOR WHISTLEBLOWERS AROUND THE WORLD TO REPORT TRAFFICKING CRIMES. THE U.S. GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE ISSUED WIDE-RANGING RECOMMENDATIONS TO INCREASE THE EFFECTIVENESS OF PAYING INFORMANTS AND WHISTLEBLOWERS TO REPORT ILLEGAL WILDLIFE TRAFFICKING. THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE SETTLED A 13-YEAR LONG FALSE CLAIMS ACT QUI TAM WHISTLEBLOWER CASE AGAINST TOYOBO CO. LTD., WHO AGREED TO PAY $66 MILLION TO RESOLVE CLAIMS THAT THEY SOLD DEFECTIVE ZYLON FIBER USED IN BULLET PROOF VESTS THAT THE UNITED STATES PURCHASED FOR FEDERAL, STATE, LOCAL, AND TRIBAL LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES.
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THE TENTH CIRCUIT RULED IN FEBRUARY, IN GENSBERG V. PORTER, THAT UNDER THE SARBANES-OXLEY ACT, WHISTLEBLOWERS ONLY NEED TO HAVE A REASONABLE BELIEF THAT THEIR CLAIMS AMOUNT TO A VIOLATION OF THE LAW. A CASE WAS FILED AGAINST FACEBOOK WITH THE SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION (SEC) ALLEGING THAT IT FACILITATES AND PROFITS FROM ILLEGAL WILDLIFE TRAFFICKING. FACEBOOK CEO MARK ZUCKERBERG WAS QUESTIONED REGARDING THIS CASE AT A CONGRESSIONAL HEARING AND MEMBERS OF CONGRESS SENT A LETTER URGING THE SEC TO INVESTIGATE THE ILLEGAL TRAFFICKING OF WILDLIFE ON FACEBOOK.
THE MESSAGE OF PROTECTING & INCENTIVIZING WHISTLEBLOWER WAS SPREAD THROUGHOUT THE WORLD IN 2018. THE NWC GAVE PRESENTATIONS, TESTIMONY, AND OFFICIAL REPORTS AND RECOMMENDATIONS TO OFFICIALS IN KENYA, DENMARK, BELGIUM, PERU, UNITED KINGDOM, THE PARLIAMENTARY ASSEMBLY OF THE COUNCIL OF EUROPE AND THE WORLD BANK.
THE NWC’S GRASSROOTS ADVOCACY WAS SUCCESSFUL IN 2018 WITH THE ACTION ALERT NETWORK MEMBERS SENDING 174,695 MESSAGES TO LEGISLATORS AND THE EXECUTIVE BRANCH WITH 36,662 ACTIONS TAKEN.
LONGTIME WHISTLEBLOWER ADVOCATE, SEN. CHUCK GRASSLEY, DELIVERED FLOOR STATEMENT TO THE U.S. SENATE, SAYING THAT FBI WHISTLEBLOWERS, AND ALL FEDERAL LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENTS, ARE PROTECTED WHEN REPORTING MISCONDUCT TO CONGRESS, AND THEY SHOULD NOT FEAR RETALIATION. THE CHAIRMAN OF THE SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE CLEARED UP ANY MISCONCEPTION OF AGENTS NOT BEING ABLE TO APPROACH CONGRESS WITHOUT A SUBPOENA.
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NWC'S GLOBAL WILDLIFE WHISTLEBLOWER PROGRAM The National Whistleblower Center is deeply involved
The Global Wildlife Whistleblower Program has seen
in efforts to fight illegal wildlife trafficking by
tremendous growth under the leadership of Mr.
incentivizing whistleblowers to come forward with
Hajost. He has worked to forge new partnerships, both
information to appropriate law enforcement
in the U.S. and globally, to refer and protect
authorities through its Global Wildlife Whistleblower
whistleblowers in the areas of wildlife crime, including
Program. Launched in 2016, this program uses the
illegal logging and fishing.
power of whistleblower reward laws, which have a proven record of success, to radically stimulate the
In January, Stephen M. Kohn, travelled to Kenya to
number of whistleblowers who report wildlife crime.
teach a workshop on wildlife whistleblowing. The event was hosted by the International Fund for Animal
Scott Hajost was named the new managing director
Welfare (IFAW).
of the NWC’s Global Wildlife Whistleblower Program, in December of 2017. Mr. Hajost is an international environment and conservation policy and law expert and manager with over 36 years working with the US Government, NGOs, multilateral institutions, and leading global environment and development projects. Most recently, he was the Chief of Party for the Wildlife Crime Tech Challenge, a global initiative of USAID in partnership with National Geographic, the Smithsonian, and TRAFFIC. In 2016, NWC’s Global Wildlife Whistleblower Program was selected as a Grand Prize winner of the Challenge and won the People’s Choice Award.
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Kohn explained how whistleblower laws can be
advertisements on the very pages the illegal ivory was
used to fight wildlife trafficking on a global scale.
being marketed.”
The workshop took place in Namanga, Kenya, a town that sits on the Kenya-Tanzania border.
Illegal wildlife trafficking is a multi-billion-dollar
Attendees included those working in the region to
annual industry that threatens both human security
combat wildlife trafficking; illegal, unreported,
and biodiversity. The NWC, through its Global Wildlife
unregulated (IUU) fishing; and illegal logging.
Whistleblower Program, will continue working to eliminate wildlife trafficking on online platforms.
In January, Kohn also gave a webinar presentation on wildlife whistleblowing sponsored by USAID for
A major breakthrough for our program came in May
the Biodiversity Funders Group - the premier
when the U.S. Government Accountability Office
professional association of foundation executives
(GAO) issued wide-ranging recommendations to
and trustees who make environmental grants.
increase the effectiveness of paying informants and whistleblowers to report illegal wildlife trafficking.
In March, the NWC met with the U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC) General Counsel Peter Davidson
The GAO's report found that wildlife trafficking is
and Senior Counsel James Uthmeier to discuss the
among the top-ranked illicit trades, valued at
implementation of whistleblower laws in their
approximately $23 billion a year, and that “the United
agency. NWC was represented by Stephen Kohn,
States is one of the world’s largest trafficking
Scott Hajost, and Co-Chairperson of the Board Dr.
markets.” According to the Report, trafficking has
Gina Green.
“pushed several endangered species to the brink of extinction” and has devastated “wild populations of
The meeting focused on how to combat illegal,
elephants, rhinoceroses, tigers,
unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing using
pangolins, turtles, exotic birds, and many other
whistleblower reward laws. Kohn, and experienced
species.”
qui tam lawyer explained to the DOC why leveraging U.S. qui tam whistleblower
The GAO recommended a top-down review of how to best utilize the payment of rewards to combat illegal wildlife trafficking, and how to effectively publicize the whistleblower reward program to the public. Another major milestone reached in May was the introduction of the Wildlife Conservation and AntiTrafficking Act of 2018. This groundbreaking legislation would have enhanced the ability of
reward laws will prove to be a powerful tool in combatting illegal fishing. “Whistleblowers are key to stopping this kind of crime,” said Mr. Kohn. “Even with technological advances, the whistleblower is the human safety net when combatting IUU fishing. They are your eyes and ears on-the-ground.”
informants worldwide to detect and report wildlife crimes. This bi-partisan legislation was sponsored by Rep. Madeleine Bordallo (D-GU) and Rep. Don Young (R-AK).
In April the Associated Press broke a story that an anonymous whistleblower has filed a complaint with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) alleging that Facebook is facilitating and profiting from illegal wildlife trafficking on its social media platform. Kohn, quoted by AP said, “Facebook is not an innocent bystander to these crimes. Facebook sold
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The Global Wildlife Whistleblower Program was the subject of a feature article in WIRED in June. The article about Facebook’s wildlife trafficking market detailed how Kohn and his team at NWC are using a novel methodology, whistleblower law, to hold Facebook accountable for the wildlife black market facilitated on its website. The digital age has brought on cause for new legal precedents. Tech companies have largely not been held responsible for the content posted and disseminated
The NWC led the campaign to get endorsements from other NGOs to support this legislation. It was able to obtain endorsement from many high profile anti-trafficking and wildlife conservation NGOs. At the time of the November election the bill had the following NGOs endorsing it, positioning it to be successfully reintroduced this coming session: -African Wildlife Foundation -Animal Welfare Institute -Association of Zoos and Aquariums -Center for Biological Diversity -Earth Day Network -Environmental Investigation Agency -Humane Society Legislative Fund -International Fund for Animal Welfare -Mission Blue / Sylvia Earle Alliance -National Whistleblower Center -Natural Resources Defense Council -Oceana -Panthera -Sea Turtle Conservancy -Thinking Animals United -Vulcan, Inc. -Wildlife Conservation Society -Conservation International (CI) -Wildlands Network -World Wildlife Fund In May the NWC also announced the formation of a partnership with the Wildlife Justice Commission. The organizations signed a memorandum of understanding to establish a framework for cooperation, develop joint endeavors, and exchange information with regards to transnational wildlife crime. “This partnership will provide a new and forceful mechanism to confront crime and corruption in the fight to end wildlife trafficking,” said Hajost.
on their platforms, allowing massive online black market of wildlife products to proliferate. The NWC team is pursuing impact litigation— establishing new applications of existing laws—to combat illegal wildlife trafficking. The fight for accountability began last year, when Kohn filed a complaint with the SEC on behalf of an anonymous whistleblower(s). It alleges, as summarized by the WIRED article, that “by facilitating illegal acts via its platform, profiting from it in the form of ads, and failing to disclose the risk of this type of abuse to its shareholders, Facebook is violating Securities and Exchange Commission regulations governing publicly traded companies.” Kohn hopes that growing distrust in social media giants like Facebook, and Mark Zuckerberg’s testimony before Congress, which included questions about the illegal wildlife trade on his platform, will assist in busting wildlife traffickers online and change how tech companies, like Facebook, are held accountable for their content.
“Whistleblowers are so important to us, [and we need to be] honoring and protecting those individuals, and compensating those individuals...” 8
In June the NWC announced the formation of a partnership with International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) with a strategic cooperative agreement between the organizations to further advance efforts in combating wildlife trafficking around the globe. IFAW and NWC will work in tandem to leverage NWC’s Global Wildlife Whistleblower Program by integrating into locations where the threat of corruption is most concentrated, including transnational borders and international air and shipping ports. IFAW partners with local communities, frontline
complaints against Facebook alleging its
law enforcement and agency officials in areas
facilitation of illegal wildlife trade on social media
where wildlife face threats from trafficking, by building a network that increases wildlife security
In August the the International Union for
across vast landscapes. IFAW’s approach includes
Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Crossroad’s blog
leveraging experts, like NWC, with specialized
published an “Open Letter” to its members written
capabilities to assist in reducing these treats,
by Hajost. “Empowering whistleblowers is the key
disrupting wildlife crime or building other capacity
to combating wildlife crime,” explained in detail
as needed.
how leveraging U.S. whistleblower reward laws can prove to be a powerful tool in combatting wildlife
In 2018, NWC also became a partner in the AZA
trafficking to a broad international audience.
Wildlife Trafficking Alliance (WTA), a coalition of more than 60 leading companies, non-profit
In a letter to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg
organizations, and AZA-accredited zoos and
delivered October 9, 2018, the NWC requested that
aquariums that are working together with the U.S.
Facebook immediately start cooperating with the
government to reduce the purchase and sale of
DOJ's efforts to investigate and halt wildlife
illegal wildlife and wildlife products.
trafficking. The NWC learned the DOJ had subpoenaed information about illegal wildlife
The Global Wildlife Whistleblower Program was
trafficking occurring on Facebook and that the
highlighted during the NWC’s annual
social media giant provided data in a raw format
National Whistleblower Day celebration on July 30.
that is very difficult and costly to analyze. In doing
The celebrations this year had a special focus on
so, Facebook is hindering crucial DOJ investigations
wildlife crime whistleblowing and featured
into wildlife trafficking networks.
speakers included Dan Ashe, former Director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife service and current President
On October 24, 2018, the Department of Interior
and CEO of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums;
(DOI) sent a request to the National Archives and
Beth Allgood, U.S. Country Director of the IFAW;
Records Administration (NARA) asking for
and via video address, Rep. Madeleine Bordallo (D-
permission to destroy documents from every
GU).
agency within the Department of Interior. These agencies include the Bureau of Land Management,
In July the NWC met with the DOJ Environment
National Park Service, US Fish & Wildlife Service, US
and Natural Resources Division to discuss the
Geological Survey, Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, Bureau of Indian Affairs, and others. The National Whistleblower Center filed a formal opposition to this request on November 8 to with NARA stating it should be denied.
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Record-keeping is a crucial component of making sure that government agencies have to answer for their actions. If granted permission, the DOI may very well be able to destroy any reasonable chance to evaluate their work in the future,” said Kohn. “Preserving these documents is key component to government oversight,” Kohn continued. In November the NWC published a guest blog by International Network for Environmental Compliance and Enforcement (INECE). "Knowledge exchange at the forefront of environmental law enforcement" discussed the need to develop a global approach to protect environmental whistleblowers by actively recognizing their role in environmental law enforcement. NWC and INECE finalized a partnership agreement in mid-December. On December 4, the Earth Island Journal published an exposé by environmental journalist Richard Schiffman questioning whether the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s (FWS) Failure to Implement a Whistleblower Program was Linked to the Vaquita’s Impending Extinction. The article used information obtained as a result of a Freedom of Information Act Request (FOIA) filed by the NWC’s Global Wildlife Whistleblower Program. The article highlighted the admission from FWS that it is unable to account for most of the funds Congress allocated for this purpose. Requested records found that the agency can only account for $13,704 of the $5.6 million granted to it during the period between 2003 and 2016. The Global Wildlife Whistleblower Program has the potential to save the world’s most beloved and endangered species. The NWC looks forward to the continued growth of the project in the coming years and fully realizing its massive potential for deterring wildlife crime. ❑
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NATIONAL WHISTLEBLOWER CENTER’S 2018
AMICUS ROUND-UP!
The National Whistleblower Center (NWC) filed several amici curiae (friend of court) briefs in 2018 to support whistleblowers and advocate for their protection. These briefs have addressed compelling legal issues including veterans’ preference-eligible FBI employees right to raise whistleblowing as an affirmative defense in an appeal to the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB), the right of Idaho state employees to receive damages for emotional distress and whether whistleblower reports needed to be “definitive and specific,” for whistleblowers to receive protection under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. In February, the Tenth Circuit issued a ruling in Gensberg v. Porter affirming the position of NWC asserted in its amicus brief. In this case, the District Court dismissed the whistleblower’s claim ruling that whistleblower reports needed to be “definitive and specific.” NWC argued that this was the wrong standard. A quarter century ago the Third Circuit ruled in in Passaic Valley Sewerage Commissioners
v. Department of Labor that whistleblowers only need to have a reasonable belief that their claims amount to a violation of the law.
The Tenth Circuit agreed. It explained the “statement of the burden [put forth by the District Court] was incorrect, the Administrative Review Board of the Department of Labor has explicitly disavowed the definitive and specific evidentiary standard” (internal quotations omitted). In March, the NWC joined a friend-of-the-court brief filed with the Supreme Court in support of FBI whistleblower John Parkinson’s petition for certiorari, seeking review of the Federal Circuit’s decision denying veterans’ preference-eligible FBI employees the right to raise whistleblowing as an affirmative defense in an appeal to the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB). The amicus brief chronicles the long-winded paths to justice of four former FBI whistleblowers, including former FBI crime lab expert Dr. Frederic
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Whitehurst, who bravely blew the whistle on flawed forensic science at the FBI lab; former FBI agent Michael German, who reported the FBI’s illegal recording of conversations in violation of Title III wiretap regulations during a counterterrorism investigation; former FBI agent Jane Turner, who reported to the DOJ Inspector General that colleagues had stolen items from Ground Zero after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks; and retired FBI employee Robert Kobus, who worked at the FBI’s New York Field Office for 35 years and made a protected disclosure regarding some of his colleagues’ abuses of the FBI’s leave policy. Unfortunately, in June the Court ruled to deny Parkinson’s petition for certiorari. In October, NWC filed an amicus brief with Supreme Court of Idaho in support of Brandon Eller, an Idaho State Police (“ISP”) detective who blew the whistle on the cover-up of another deputy’s dangerous actions. While Eller received a jury reward for his actions, he has been denied funds for the emotional damages that he suffered as a direct result of ISP’s retaliatory actions. In its “friend-of-the-court” brief, the NWC argued that the Idaho Protection of Public Employees Act “must be interpreted broadly to fully compensate plaintiffs and thereby
enhance responsible whistleblowing activity directed toward ensuring integrity in the operation of the publicsector workplace.” The Supreme Court delivered a destructive decision in March on a case the in which NWC filed an amicus brief in 2017, Digital Realty Trust v. Somers. This decision has farreaching consequences for SEC whistleblowers as the Supreme Court unanimously ruled to leave whistleblowers who report internally without critical protections under the Dodd-Frank Act. The ramifications of the Court’s decision go beyond SEC whistleblowers seeking to report to the SEC. Because environmental laws, worker protections, and other financial regulation provisions mirror DoddFrank whistleblower provisions, these provisions will now also fail to protect internal whistleblowers. See Stephen Kohn’s article, Law 360: Digital Realty’s Victory Is A Loss For Corporate Compliance. These cases share an essential thread: the courageous actions of whistleblowers set on doing the right thing. The NWC will continue to advocate on behalf of whistleblowers in the new year, defending the rights of courageous men and women who report fraud and corruption. ❑
New Website Launched
In December a redesigned website was launched at https://www.whistleblowers.org. Our goal in designing a new website was to make it easier for visitors to find information on whistleblower rights, legal assistance and to take part in advocacy campaigns to expand whistleblower protections. Visitors to the new website will find it easy to navigate to useful information about our resources from the homepage. New features include an expanded Frequently Asked Questions pages highlighting a learn your rights section to help visitors navigate the maze of whistleblower laws. Also videos of whistleblowers are spread throughout the website. ❑
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National Whistleblower Day
Whistleblowers, the often-reprimanded public servants who uncover wrongdoing, were honored on July 30th at the annual celebration of National Whistleblower Day hosted by the NWC. Government officials, whistleblower advocates, whistleblowers and their supporters gathered to commemorate the 240th anniversary of the nation’s first whistleblower law, which was passed on July 30th, 1778. Whistleblowers and agency leaders took turns speaking to the crowd of over 200 attendees about their stories and their dedication to fighting corruption, fraud, waste, and abuse in the government and private sectors. Over 60 of the attendees were whistleblowers, and each received individual recognition when FBI Whistleblower and Master of Ceremonies Jane Turner asked them to stand to be recognized. Each was met with a strong round of applause. The event featured series of speakers, including whistleblowers, whistleblower advocates, lawmakers, and public officials. Among the whistleblowers who spoke at the event were bullet-proof vest qui tam whistleblower Dr. Aaron Westrick, intelligence community whistleblower Daniel Meyer, and White House whistleblower Linda Tripp. Tripp, who blew the whistle on the Clinton White House, made her first public remarks since 2000.
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The Global Wildlife Whistleblower Program was featured during the celebration this year focusing on wildlife crime whistleblowing with featured speakers Dan Ashe, former Director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife service and current President and CEO of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums; Beth Allgood, U.S. Country Director of the IFAW; and via video address, Rep. Madeleine Bordallo (DGU). The event was covered by C-Span and many national news outlets. Videos of the event are available on the NWC’s YouTube Channel. ❑
INTERNATIONAL ADVOCACY... NWC'S 2018 GLOBAL ANTI-CORRUPTION EFFORTS The NWC has led the fight for whistleblower protections and rewards for over 30 years. This past year, the NWC frequently worked with anti-corruption activists and dedicated governments officials worldwide to help build effective anti-corruption programs as part of its outreach to international whistleblowers. The NWC understands that anti-corruption work can be most effective only when it is a unified global approach, as reflected in this year’s theme for International Anti-Corruption Day: “United Against Corruption”. The National Whistleblower Center’s programs reached far and wide to promote importance of whistleblowers in anti-corruption efforts around the world. As part of NWC’s Global Wildlife Whistleblower Program, in January 2018 Executive Director Stephen M. Kohn traveled to Kenya to teach a workshop on wildlife whistleblowing to attendees from Kenya and Tanzania who work 14
directly on wildlife trafficking and with potential whistleblowers in effected stakeholder communities. Stephen Kohn discussed how U.S. qui tam whistleblower laws can be used to fight corruption on a global scale, including wildlife trafficking. With a looming extinction crisis, the world needs fast answers that are known to work. Whistleblower rewards have been proven successful over decades of experience in halting corruption, fraud, and other crime, on a wide variety of issues. Wildlife trafficking relies on corruption to function; it is time to utilize whistleblower reward laws against wildlife trafficking, too. “Money is an instrumental element to oiling the cogs of the wildlife trade, and illicit transactions leave a paper trail,” NWC Wildlife Managing Director Scott A. Hajost wrote in the Whistleblower Protection Blog. Some of the NWC’s outreach to countries around the world also happens right here in Washington, D.C. The NWC hosts groups of international visitors who are legislators and government officials, members of civil society, and lawyers and members of the judiciary, to teach lessons-learned from U.S. whistleblower laws and to help strengthen democratic institutions in their own countries. Whistleblower reward laws tackle corruption problems by bringing to the light evidence which would otherwise remain hidden. In the past year, Stephen Kohn, NWC President Michael D. Kohn, General Counsel David Colapinto and Policy Counsel Maya Efrati, hosted groups from the countries of Armenia and Georgia, as well as regional groups from South Asian and Latin American countries. The distinguished visitors learn directly from the decades of experience of the National Whistleblower Center in fighting for whistleblowers. The NWC also advocates for individual whistleblowers around the world who have blown the whistle on significant instances of corruption and are particularly at risk for retaliation. The NWC uses litigation and support campaigns to urge their
governments – as well as the U.S. government – to investigate and reward their brave actions. One region of particular concern in the past year has been Europe. In February 2018, the NWC launched a campaign to advocate for Valery Atanasov, who was subjected to severe whistleblower retaliation after blowing the whistle in Malta. Mr. Atanasov identified severe regulatory deficiencies in the Malta Gaming Authority, which allowed for money laundering and other criminal practices in the legal gambling industry. NWC’s Stephen Kohn and Maya Efrati wrote to the Group of States Against Corruption (“GRECO”), of which Malta is a signatory and which would have jurisdiction in this case, insisting that GRECO and other appropriate authorities, including the Prime Minister of Malta and the Council of Europe, step in and halt the ongoing retaliation by the government of Malta against Mr. Atanasov. While Mr. Valery continues to fight for compensation for the retaliation he suffered as a result of the information he brought to light, NWC’s advocacy in his case resulted in wide publicity and acknowledgement of his status as a whistleblower – a key first step. Stephen Kohn was asked to give a presentation at a Technical Workshop on Reprisals to the World Bank Group on October 23, 2018, in which he explained the importance of both incentivizing and protecting whistleblower who come forward to report fraud and corruption. 15
Kohn next traveled to London to address the Offshore Alert conference on “Lessons from the Danske Bank Case: Whistleblowing in Europe’s Financial Institutions,” on November 13. The OffshoreAlert Conference is a Financial Intelligence & Investigations Event that brings together more than 250 clients, providers and investigators of high-end financial products and services from UK, Europe, USA, Canada and key offshore jurisdictions each year. The threat of retaliation for whistleblowers in Europe has not yet been stopped. The NWC has been on the front line of pushing governments around the world to investigate the enormous Danske Bank corruption and money laundering scheme. A British employee at the Estonian branch of the Danish Danske Bank noticed a scheme, worth hundreds of billions of dollars, in which money from Russia and other countries was laundered the bank and then routed to major Western world capitals, including London and New York. The whistleblower raised the alarm internally, but was ignored. In October, his identity as Mr. Howard Wilkinson was leaked in an article which cited employees of Dansk Bank as sources, a clear retaliatory step and a violation of Mr. Wilkinson’s human rights. While Wilkinson and Stephen Kohn testified before both the Danish and EU Parliaments, Wilkinson was warned by Danske Bank that while it released him from the terms of his restrictive non-disclosure agreement, he could still face criminal or civil prosecution for speaking on the money laundering issues under bank secrecy laws. Stephen Kohn explained to the international media that “the threat of a lawsuit has a chilling effect”. Members of the Danish government have pledged to address the issue of Mr. Wilkinson’s vulnerability to retaliation as the governments of Denmark, as well as others including the U.S., continue to investigate the money laundering scandal that he exposed. In June, the NWC published a report on the misleading position taken by the Bank of England which has continued to stymie whistleblower incentives in Europe. The NWC, in collaboration with the European Center for Whistleblower Rights, called for the BOE's report to be immediately rescinded.
At the same time, NWC is working to improve the proposed European-wide whistleblower directive by the European Union. As it stands, the whistleblower directive in front of the European Parliament contains serious deficiencies which will impede direct reporting to law enforcement agencies and not incentivize whistleblowers to come forward. The NWC issued a letter to the European Parliament members and other legislative bodies effected by this directive, urging that the necessary improvements be made immediately. The NWC was honored to participate in Korea’s first ever Whistleblower Day celebrations. During the December 9th event, hosted by the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission (ACRC) of Korea, importance of whistleblowers in anti-corruption efforts was highlighted. NWC President Michael D. Kohn, who participated in the APEC Anti-Corruption and Transparency Symposium in 2009, was invited to address the Whistleblower Day attendees in Korea via video. Michael Kohn’s video message was shared with the Korean people and participants in a weeklong celebration.
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As part of the NWC’s commemoration of International Anti-Corruption Day 2018, Stephen Kohn presented the keynote address at the International Annual Conference on Integrity, December 6 in Lima, Peru. On December 13, Kohn and Wilkinson testified before the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe’s Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights. The committee is investigating global money laundering issues. The main focus of the Committee’s investigation is on two large-scale international money-laundering schemes from recent years, known as the Global (or Russian) Laundromat and the Azerbaijani Laundromat. The Committee intends to cast light on the circumstances surrounding these schemes, draw lessons from them and on that basis, make recommendations of both specific and general nature to states and other authorities. The NWC’s work is not yet done. Too many whistleblowers are still subject to retaliation for stepping forward with vital information, and too many countries have not yet incentivized whistleblowers and protected them adequately. The outreach and advocacy efforts of the National Whistleblower Center to apply the positive lessons learned from U.S. Whistleblower laws, and utilize them to protect whistleblowers around the world, have only just begun. Corruption is an insidious problem that cannot be stopped by a single country or by only wealthy countries. Instead, a unified international approach is required if we wish to have a long-lasting and significant impact and truly end global corruption. Reflecting this approach, the theme for International AntiCorruption Day this year was “United Against Corruption”. It is time for every single country to protect whistleblowers by incentivizing the reporting of high-quality information to appropriate legal authorities – and honoring and rewarding whistleblowers for their bravery. ❑
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National Whistleblower Center Board of Directors Dr. Gina Green, Co-Chairperson Michael D. Kohn, President Dr. Mark Toney Jane Turner Dr. Frederic Whitehurst, Co-Chairperson Mary Jane Wilmoth Officers David Colapinto, General Counsel Michael Kohn, Co-President Stephen Kohn, Executive Director Mary Jane Wilmoth, Secretary and Treasurer Dr. Frederic Whitehurst, Director of the Forensic Justice Project Jane Turner, Chairperson, Whistleblower Leadership Council Staff Mary Jane Wilmoth, Chief Operating Officer Dean A. Zerbe, Senior Policy Analyst Scott Hajost, Managing Director, Global Wildlife Whistleblower Program Maya Efrati, Policy Counsel Sarah Khan, Litigation Fellow Farhat Muruwat, Digital Advocacy Communications Coordinator
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