Discussion / 2 replies

Why is whistleblowing a controversial activity? Do a quick google search and see if you can bring an examples to the class discussion.

Whistleblowing is revealing information about misconduct within a company, and it tends to usually be an employee who is the ‘whistleblower’. This information being revealed can include, safety issues, fraud, hazards, any type of discrimination, or any form of employee mistreatment. Although they may be praised for being brave enough to reveal this information, they can be seen as controversial as it will be seen being unloyal or betraying their company. It can lead to the downfall of a company and cause financial loss and ruin the company’s reputation overall, resulting in them not being able to rebuild their trusted customers. It is also controversial as the claims that are being made by a whistleblower is not credible. It also means that your management has failed to resolve a known unethical or illegal behavior within its company.

An example of this would be the 2016 case of the “Panama Papers” which is where an anonymous person leaked 11.5 million documents of financial data, exposed the network of more than 214,000 people and entities from 200 different nations. It exposed offshore tax evasion and money laundering by numerous politicians, celebrities, and corporations worldwide. The files exposed how the rich use legal loopholes to avoid paying taxes and, as it was found in some cases, commit tax fraud, tax evasion, and avoid international sanctions.

The Panama Papers leak was seen as controversial as people argued it invaded people’s privacy rights. The only name that is found is a pseudonym name of John Doe for this leak, so the person who did this leak still remains unknown.

TWO

A whistleblower is a person who reports waste, fraud, abuse, corruption, or dangers to public health and safety to someone who is in a position to rectify the wrongdoing. Whistleblowing is working in the inside of an organization where the wrongdoing is taking place and the individual discloses information about wrongdoing that otherwise would not be known. A whistleblower is revealing information about misconduct within a company, and the insider tends to be the whistleblower. It’s important to follow whistleblower rules and procedures because if the information is revealed it can endanger many people resulting in safety issues, professional isolation, and public scrutiny. Although serving as a whistleblower may be noble, and people may get praised for being able to secure important information and protections against retaliation. However, they are often seen as controversial for being unloyal or betraying their company with information only they are supposed to know which can result in protection and financial rewards. It can even lead to the downfall of a company and can result in troubles of financial loss and ruin a company’s reputation forever from information getting revealed. Many companies can have a downfall by not being trusted by their customers. They can lead to destruction for not only the company but the whistleblower because some information isn’t always correct but controversial. In addition, it can even be controversial as claims might not be accurate or credible which can be a risk of making an inaccurate allegation that can’t be supported by the law or the facts. It can also mean that if the claim is unsuccessful, the employer may never have been made aware and has failed to resolve a known illegal behavior within the company.

An example of a whistleblower would be October 3, 2021, the “Pandora Papers”, the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists assisted with efforts to leak tons of important data and documentation. The records uncovered economic inequality and wealth disparities in the world by exposing world leaders’ offshore assets. The Pandora Papers highlighted assets owned by King Abdullah II of Jordan and Czech Republic’s prime minister, and other leaders as well. The King used offshore companies to make these purchases, and he even accepted money from Western donors. This news aroused lots of controversy in Jordan and the wider region because the King was not known to have this level of wealth. All the records that were leaked exposed that many of the power players who could bring an end to the offshore system only benefited the leaders. In the documents, it was said that “A $22 million chateau in the French Rivera replete with a cinema and two swimming pools purchased through offshore companies by the Czech Republic’s populist prime minister”( ICIJ). All of this shows an unequal perspective on the results of money and power operating in the 21st century and rules of law have always been bent and broken. Also, the 13.4 million documents and 1.4 terabytes of data exposed complex international tax avoidance schemes, it was composed of loan agreements, financial statements, emails, and paperwork. The file exposed a complex of tax havens, shell corporations, and offshore accounts that hide the true ownership of billions of dollars of assets. The people exposed were 35 current and former world leaders, 330 politicians and public officials in 91 countries and territories, and a global lineup of fugitives, con artists, and murderers. Also, the Panama Papers contained personal financial information about many wealthy individuals and public officials that were all kept private. Some of the documents showed no inappropriate or illegal behavior, however, some of the shell corporations were revealed by reporters to have been used for illegal purposes, including fraud, tax evasion, and the evasion of international sanctions.

The Pandora Papers leak was seen as the most expansive expose of financial secrecy because it contained documents, images, emails, and offshore accounts all leaked to the public. It was a release of more than 12 million leaked documents that revealed the hidden and unethical dealings of the global wealthy and elite people. The Panama Papers were compiled by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists but the name of the person who leaked the information remains unknown.