all about whistleblowing

Worldwide Whistleblower News (December 7 - December 14, 2009)

[Czech Republic] "Poll: Most employees fear to report rules violation at work," Prague Daily Monitor, December 12, 2009.

Almost a half of employees in the Czech Republic have met with a serious violation of regulations and rules at work, but most of them have not reported such cases, according to a poll by the Transparency International Czech Republic (TIC) released to CTK. Click here to read more.

[Japan] "Revise the whistle-blower law," The Japan Times, December 12, 2009.

More than three and a half years have passed since a law protect whistle-blowers went into force in April 2006. Click here to read more. 

Download Japan's Whistleblower Protection Act (Act No. 122 of 2004) - English Version   

[Canada] Puxley, Chinta, "Pathologist whistleblower alleges patient safety at risk due to 'toxic' workload," metronews.ca, December 11, 2009.

A whistleblower alleges excessive workloads in Manitoba pathology labs have led to the wrong diagnosis in at least one case, but provincial health officials say it doesn't appear patients are at risk. Click here to read more.   

[UK] Verkaik, Robert, "Baby P whistle-blower to sue council," The Independent, December 11, 2009. 

The senior social worker who first warned the Government about serious failings in the investigation of childcare cases - six months before the death of Baby Peter - is suing Haringey Council for vitimisation. Click here to read more. 

[France] Sage, Adam, "HSBC whistleblower in hiding amid money laundering investigation," TimesOnline,  December 10, 2009.  

Swiss authorities have opened a criminal inquiry after allegations that a former HSBC employee gave stolen data concerning client accounts at the bank's Geneva branch to French tax authorities. Click here to read more. 

[Ireland] Burke-Kennedy, Eoin, "Safeguards for whistleblowers sought," Irishtimes.com, December 9, 2009. 

Anti-corruption watchdog Transparency International (TI) has called on the Government to establish legal safeguards for employees who expose wrongdoing or corrupt practice in their pieces of work. Click here to read more.

Follow my twitter- global_whistle to read more news.   

A Whistleblower in Azerbaijan (October 2009)

It is outdated, but this case shows whistleblower's fearful situation in Azerbaijan.  

Mahammad Gurbanov, a 55 year old resident of Nakchivan city who was placed in a mental hospital by employees of the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic Internal Affairs Ministry with second degree disability on September 11, 2009, was finally released on October 10 from the hospital after 29 days in detention.  

Gurbanov was a small trader who brought goods from Turkey’s Igdir village and sold them in Nakchivan city.  When he was at Diluchu-Sadarak checkpoint last time to enter Azerbaijan, custom officers asked him a bribe for the goods he brought. After Gurbanov declined to pay the bribe, his goods were confiscated and his travel to Turkey was banned. Gurbanov appealed about the actions committed by the custom officers to Nakhchivan’s Customs Committee and Supreme Council. Two days after he appealed, policemen captured him in his house and sent to a psychiatric hospital. He forcefully signed an admission that he was mentally ill. He was not permitted to meet with his family and relatives.

On September 30, Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic Democracy and NGO Development Resource Center appealed to international and local Human Rights organizations about Gurbanov’s circumstances.  

On October 10, 2009, Mental Health Day, he was finally released from the hospital. He said "I don't have any health problems. I didn't receive any treatment in the hospital, because I didn't need it."

According to Azerbaijan Country Profile from Business Anti-Corruption Portal, it is common for foreign business people to be asked for bribes by customs officials when they cross Azerbaijan borders and total bribes may reach 35% of the value of imported goods.  Global Integrity Report 2008 states that whistleblowing system in Azerbaijan is very week. There is no specific law to protect individuals who blow the whistle about fraud and corruption.    

Referred Articles

“Whistleblower released from psychiatric hospital,” International Freedom of Expression eXchange, October 14, 2009.

“Human rights defenders in Nakhchivan concerned regarding Mahammad Gurbanov’s situation,” Nakhchivan Human Rights & Mass Media Monitoring, October 1, 2009. 

“Another person fighting corruption in Nakhchivan placed in mental asylum,” Azeri Report, September 14, 2009. 

“Imprisoned in mental hospital Mahammad Gurbanov is denied the rights to meet his family members,” Azeri Report, September 15, 2009. 

Worldwide Whistleblower News (November 24 - December 6, 2009)

[Iran] "Iran whistleblower dies from drug-laced salad," Associated Press, December 2, 2009.   

A 26-year-old doctor who exposed the torture of jailed protesters in Iran died of poisoning from a delivery salad laced with overdose of blood pressure medication, prosecutors say. The findings fueled opposition fears that he was killed because of what he knew... Click here to read more. 

[TI] "Inadequate laws expose whistleblowers and impede fight against corruption," December 3, 2009. 

Most of the 10 European countries included in a new report by Transparency International (TI) lack adequate laws to protect whistleblowers who often take risks and brave possible sanctions to expose wrongdoing, including corruption. Click here to read more.

[Malta] Flores, Charles, "Whistling in the dark and blowing in the wind," The Malta Independent Online, December 3, 2009. 

There must have been people who, like me, were left speechless by the Prime Minister's description, on RTL Radio last week, of a whistleblower. Rather than the welcome tome of admiration and the soothing assurance of protection one is... Click here to read more.

[Canada] Bron, Ian, "Colvin is indeed a whistleblower," Ottawa Citizen, December 1, 2009. 

On Saturday on this page, Amir Attaran and Gar Pardy came to the defence of Richard Colvin, the diplomat who testified to a parliamentary committee that he had warned senior government official about the torture of Afghan detainees. Click here to read more.

[Australia] "Teacher bullied to keep quiet on problem schools," news.com.au, November 30, 2009. 

The Queensland Opposition said whisteblowing teachers were being bullied by other teacher to keep problems in schools quiet. New figures released by the State Government showed the number of complaints of bullying and aggressive behavior... Click here to read more. 

[China] Ang, Ben Lim Chiow, "It takes courage to be a whistle blower," China Daily, November 30, 2009.

What action would you take if you discovered your superior was abusing their position? All too often it's a case of damn if you do and damn if you don't. Blowing the whistle might put your own rice bowl at stake, by keeping silent comes with... Click here to read more.

[South Africa] Hamlyn, Michael, "AA whistleblower safe," iafrica.com, December 1, 2009.

The managing engineer of the power system control section at the Tshwane municipality, Jaco Weyers, who refuged to appoint affirmative action candidates after they did poorly in their job selection tests, has been protected by a court decision... Click here to read more.

[UK] "Whistleblower secures £442k in compensation," Russel Jones & Walker, November 24, 2009. 

A former local authority employee who suffered harassment and was sacked after complaining about a new management appointment has been awarded a payout of £442,466. Click here to read more.   

It is better to save as PDF files if you want to keep the news. 

Please follow on my twitter to read worldwide whistleblower news. 

http://twitter.com/global_whistle

  

Weekly World News about Whistleblowing (3rd Week of November 2009)

[Canada] MacCharles, Tonda, Richard Colvin: Portrait of a whistleblower, theStar.com, November 21, 2009.

Talk to people who know Richard Colvin and a few key traits emerge. Driven, committed to Canada's mission in Afghanistan. Knows his stuff. Takes copious notes. Sociable, yet discreet. Above all, discreet. Click here to read more. 

[USA] Bottemiller, Helena, “GAP Highlights Role of Whistleblowers,” Food Safety News, November 21, 2009.

The Government Accountability Project (GAP) held a conference yesterday focused on the important role whistleblowers play in protecting the food supply, exploring ways to empower more food workers to speak out against inhumane and unsafe practices in the food system. Click here to read more.

[Vietnam] Huy, Dam, “Company chief arrested for having whistleblower killed, Thanhnien News.com, November 21, 2009.

Ngo Quang Truong, director of real estate investor Hoang Hai Ltd. in Hoc Mon District, was detained after the police caught four men involved in the murder: Bui Quoc Huy, Tran Van Khoa from the northern Vinh Phuc Province, Vu Van Luan from the northern Hai Phong City and Ngo Chi Huan from the Mekong Delta’s Hau Giang Province. Click here to read more.  

[Australia] McCarthy, Joanne, “No help for Orkopoulos whistleblower Gillian Sneddon,” theherald.com.au., November 21, 2009.

GILLIAN Sneddon has officially fallen through the cracks in the system. She helped police put her former boss, Swansea MP Milton Orkopoulos, in jail for child sex offences, but NSW Deputy Ombudsman Chris Wheeler has confirmed what Ms Sneddon already knew there is nowhere she can turn for help about her treatment as a whistleblower. Click here to read more.

[USA] Joshi, Bharat, “Don’t Shoot the Messenger,” Wall Street Journal, November 20, 2009. 

All organizations (not just businesses) require honest, periodic sizing up(s) to appreciate the position they're in and the changing landscape around them. While some of this is regulatory or obligatory -- financial audits, for instance -- others are discretionary such as consultants, quality control, human resource audits and the like. Click here to read more.

[Malta] Vella, Francesca, “Whistleblower Act expected shortly,” The Malta Independent, November 20, 2009.

Justice and Home Affairs Minister Carmelo Mifsud Bonnici said yesterday that the Whistleblower Act is expected to be introduced shortly, possibly towards the end of the year or the beginning of next year. Click here to read more.

[USA] “New Jersey Hospital Settles Medicare Fraud Case,” Avvo, November 19, 2009.

A hospital in northern New Jersey will pay the U.S. government more than $3 million in a settlement, after a lawsuit alleged the care facility defrauded Medicare. The Trinitas Regional Medical Center in Elizabeth, New Jersey, was named by whistleblower Tony Kite in 2005 for allegedly inflating their charges for delivering care to Medicare patients to obtain increased reimbursements from the government-funded system. Click here to read more.

[Iran] McGough, Steve, “Whistleblower Iranian physician dead,” Radio Vice Online, November 18, 2009.

Well isn’t this just grand. Twenty-six year old Iranian prison doctor Ramin Pourandarjani who went public with reports of torture and murder after the recently-squashed Iranian revolution is dead after a car accident. Or is it a heart attack. Or maybe suicide. Or maybe he was poisoned. Click here to read more.

[USA] Quinlan, Paul, “Former port official wins nearly $500,000 settlement in whistleblower suit over firing,” The Palm Beach Post News, November 18, 2009.

Michael Davis says the first time he ever got into trouble with his boss at the Port of Palm Beach was when he reported that a colleague ordered the port's private security guards to search valet-parked cars of customers away on gambling cruises. Click here to read more.

Weekly World News about Whistleblowing (November 15, 2009)

 

[USA] Panel Takes an In-Depth Look at UBS Whistleblower Case, POGO's blog, November 16, 2009.

[UK] Develin, Kate, “NHS whistleblower ‘sacked for revealing dumped x-ray scans’,” Telegraph.co.uk, November 14, 2009.

Dr Otto Chan, a consultant radiologist, believes that he was labelled a troublemaker after the revelations about the Royal London. He claims that hospital bosses decided to get rid of him and that his dismissal has left him unable to get another job in the health service. He is suing the hospital for loss of earnings, future earnings and pension. Click here to read more.

[Philippines] "Why charge the whistleblowers?," The Manila Times.net, November 13, 2009. 

We agree with the senators and others who have criticized the Senate joint three-committees’ report on the ZTE scandal for including the two main whistleblowers among the persons recommended for prosecution. Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel Jr., Senators Panfilo Lacson, Alan Peter Cayetano, and Francis Escudero were right to warn that prosecuting Messrs. Click here to read more.  

[Vietnam] "Whistleblower prompts inspection of Vietnam's Jetstar airline," EarthTimes, November 11, 2009. 

Hanoi - Vietnamese authorities are inspecting budget carrier Jetstar Pacific Airlines (JPA) after two foreign engineers fired by the company accused it of violating safety protocols, government officials said Wednesday. Jetstar Pacific's former chief engineer, Bernard John McCune of Australia, and one of his colleagues sent a letter on October 26 to the Vietnam Aviation Agency detailing several violations of safety rules. Click here to read more. 

[Canada] "Hydro employees intimidated: whistleblower, CBCNEWS, November 10, 2009.

A Manitoba Hydro whistleblower said Tuesday that employees at the publicly owned utility are being threatened to stay quiet about allegations of mismanagement and that she fears an investigation into her claims is being swept under the rug. Click here to read more.

[Russia] Whitemore, Brian, "'YouTube'Whistleblower Arrives in Moscow On Police Day, As Scandal Deepens, Radio Free Europe Radio Liberty, November 10, 2009. 

His bank card and mobile phone were blocked. He was detained on the way to the airport. And he had a tough time buying a plane ticket. But Aleksei Dymovsky, a police major in the Black Sea port city of Novorossiisk, managed to make it to Moscow, where he continued his campaign to expose what he called widespread malfeasance and corruption in Russia's law-enforcement bodies. Click here to read more. 

[UK] Award for whistleblower nurse, Press Association, November 10, 2009.

A whistleblower nurse struck off after raising concerns about poor standards of care insisted she had done the right thing as she picked up a national nursing award. Margaret Haywood secretly filmed the neglect of elderly patients for a television documentary and was struck off the nursing register for misconduct in April. She admitted breaching patient confidentiality but said she had agreed to film at the Royal Sussex Hospital in Brighton to highlight terrible conditions there. Click here to read more. 

[IEA] Macalister, Terry, "Key oil figures were distorted by US pressure, says whistleblower," guardian.co.uk, November 9, 2009. 

The world is much closer to running out of oil than official estimates admit, according to a whistleblower at the International Energy Agency who claims it has been deliberately underplaying a looming shortage for fear of triggering panic buying. The senior official claims the US has played an influential role in encouraging the watchdog to underplay the rate of decline from existing oil fields while overplaying the chances of finding new reserves. Click here to read more. 

Aleksei Dymovsky, Russian whistleblower, is in danger

According to Radio Free Europe, Aleksei Dymovsky, the Russian whistleblower who blew the whistle about Russian police's corruption on You Tube, is in danger. Please click here to read more.

Russia fires police YouTube whistleblower - Reuter

A junior Russian policeman was fired on Sunday after making a YouTube appeal to Prime Minister Vladimir Putin accusing senior officers of corruption, a claim dismissed by authorities as false, news agencies reported. The policeman from the Black Sea port of Novorossiisk last week posted a seven-minute clip that accused senior officers of forcing him to work weekends and solve imaginary crimes, as well as blocking him from claiming compensation for an injury. Click here to read more.

International Whistleblower News - From National Whistleblower Center Blog

[Malaysia] Tsin, Yip Ai, “Whistleblower Act wins TI-M approval,” Malaysiakini, October 26, 2009.

Anti-graft watchdog Transparency International Malaysia (TI-M) has lauded the proposed Whistleblower Act, which will provide immunity to informants against civil or criminal action. "By putting in place the protection of whistleblowers, the government (will) promote integrity and freedom of speech, which are crucial conditions for democracy, the rule of law and sustainable development," said TI-M secretary-general Loi Kheng Min in a statement today. Click here to read more.

[UK] Chadwick, Edward, “Birmingham MP John Hemming gives refuge to Jersey whistleblower,” Birmingham Post.net, October 26, 2009.

A Birmingham MP has taken an on-the-run whistleblower into his home after he claimed asylum in the UK. John Hemming says Stuart Syvret will be arrested “over his dead body” after the former Jersey health minister holed up at his London flat. He is facing prison after leaking a police report into an aborted investigation surrounding the conduct of a male nurse on the island. Mr Syvret will ask the British Government for legal asylum and “protection from harassment” from the Jersey authorities. Click here to read more.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE INTERNATIONAL NEWS FROM NWC BLOG.

Selected Whistleblower News - 4th Week of October 2009

Korecki, Natasha, "MPC Products whistleblower's reward:$4.5 million, Chicago Sun-Times, October 16, 2009.

It was a Saturday in 2005 when Joe Caputo got the phone call. The FBI was raiding his employer's office. Could he come over? Caputo arrived at MPC Products Corp., a Skokie-based defense contractor, was handed a jacket and rushed through a back door. He was poring over documents in his boss' office when he looked up, and through the glass, the two locked eyes. The manager, glaring back, wasn't allowed in... Caputo, now 48, is credited with blowing the lid off price inflation tactics used by MPC, leading to a $22.5 million civil settlement. The agreement between MPC and the government, announced Thursday, also includes a $2.5 million criminal fine and the firm's pledge to plead guilty to felony fraud charges. Click here to read more.

"Nelnet Faces Whistleblower Suit Over Loan Subsides, Wall Street Journal, October 21, 2009.

Nelnet Inc. (NNI) faces a whistle-blower lawsuit charging that the company made false claims in order to receive extra government subsidies for originating federally guaranteed student loans, according to papers filed last week with the Securities and Exchange Commission. While many private lenders receive subsidies in exchange for originating loans under the Federal Family Education Loan Program, it is illegal to obtain such subsidies by making false claims. The civil lawsuit, filed by former Nelnet employee Rudy Vigil, alleges Nelnet was too aggressive in recruiting students to sign up for federally guaranteed loans and used those applications to receive government subsidies above the allowed rate. Click here to read more.

Mittleman, David, "Whistleblower Points Out Problems with "Community" Cancer Research Sites, Injuryboard.com, October 23, 2009. 

Two years after becoming vice president for research at Carle Foundation Hospital in Urbana, Illinois, Dr. Suzanne Stratton decided to put her foot down. After repeatedly clashing with doctors who oversaw patients enrolled in more than 130 federally sponsored cancer studies, Dr. Stratton had enough. She knew that there were “major deficiencies” in 12 out of the 29 experiments being overseen by the doctor that she argued with. In fact, those “major deficiencies” included serious risks to patients, as well as risks to science, because the doctors in charge of the studies were eager to publish results. However, when she decided to speak out against the situation, she was immediately fired and ushered out of the hospital the same day. Click here to read more.

"Keys whistleblowing firm gets $10.8M," KeysNet.com, October 24, 2009. 

Chalk up another victory -- and another monetary windfall -- for a small Key West pharmacy. This past week, federal prosecutors reached a deal with four pharmaceutical companies that have agreed to pay $124 million nationwide to settle accusations they filed false claims to Medicaid. The companies allegedly misclassified brand-name drugs as generics to avoid paying full rebates to the Medicaid program. Click here to read more.

Russell, Rucks, "Whistleblower files lawsuit against Fort Bend County," Khou.com, October 21, 2009.

FORT BEND COUNTY—A former employee at the Fort Bend County Juvenile Detention Center who blew the whistle over alleged crimes she claims to have witnessed believes she was fired in retaliation and has filed a lawsuit against the county.  “All I did was tell the truth and I wouldn’t change a thing,” said Patricia Cantu, who spent 18 years as a guard at the detention center. Click here to read more.

 

DC Whistleblower Film Festival - The Insider - Jeffrey Wigand

 
On October 22, 2009, Jeffrey Wigand, a "person of conscience" of tobacco industry came to DC to talk about "The Insider," the movie based on his story.

Jeffrey Wigand's website

"A Native New Yorker, Dr. Wigand was born in New York City but now calls Mt. Pleasant, Michigan home. Currently he spends his time and efforts on lectures around the world, as an expert witness and consultant on various tobacco issues, and on his non-profit organization, SMOKE-FREE KIDS, Inc., where he concentrates his energy on helping kids of all ages make better decisions and healthy choices regarding tobacco use."

DC Whistleblower Film Festival

Movie Trailer - The Insider