Canadians file U.S. whistleblower claims

As part of the U.N. sponsored International Anti-Corruption Day, the National Whistleblower Center is calling on government’s around the world to enact whistleblower laws, and to model these laws on successful U.S. programs.

The Center outlines these details in a report, The Importance of Whistleblower Rewards in Combating International Corruption. It says that since 2011, over 1,000 whistleblowers from 82 separate countries, including Canada, have already made confidential disclosures to U.S. authorities under the American anti-corruption whistleblower reward laws. These laws permit foreign nationals to file confidential claims in the U.S., including claims based on violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, a law designed to combat international bribery of government officials.

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Since 2011, the SEC has paid non-U.S. citizens over US$30 million in whistleblower rewards. The names and countries of these international whistleblowers are confidential to protect the informants.

The National Whistleblower Center called upon anti-corruption NGOs to sponsor trainings for potential informants who may qualify under U.S. laws.

In a separate report by the Chief of the SEC, the Commission supported the efforts of international whistleblowers to obtain protection under the U.S. laws, where applicable.

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It notes, “We hope that awards like this one [a large multi-million dollar reward given to an international whistleblower] will incentivize company and industry insiders, or others who may have knowledge of possible federal securities law violations, both in the U.S. and abroad, to come forward and report their information promptly to the Commission.”

Since 2011, 167 whistleblowers from Canada have filed whistleblower reward claims in the U.S.