A GUIDE FOR FINANCIAL FRAUD INVESTIGATION & PRECAUTION, SHIVANI SHARMA [read my book txt] 📗

problem. Taking the problem to upper management. Going outside the organization. Living with the result.

 

23)Guideline of  whistleblowing:-

Magnitute of consequences. Probability of effect. Temporal  immediacy Proximity Concentration of effort.

 

24)Effect of Whistle blowing;-

Forced to leave organization or  demotion. Credibility ruiend Family,health and/or life in danger. Outrange and divisioness of people diretly or indirectly Physical or psycological isolation. Organization experiance loss of money,restitution,productivity and positive reputation. Incarceration.

 

25)Protection law:-

Whistleblower protection law  1989. The whistleblower act 1994. Whistle blower in some area are not without legale support. In US both fedreal and  state laws are aimed at protecting those who undertake whistle blowing. However even with this support whistle blower must still comtemplate a difficult and dangerous path. The primary protection act is federal  whistle blower protection act 1989. Another federal law is false claim act which has been around since 1863. Many state goverment has passed there own whistle blower protection act.

 

26)Is whistle blowing justified?

Is the whistle blower acting in public interest? Is the whistle blower acting in a good faith? Has the whistle blower exhausted internal channel? Dose whistle-blowing prejudice the ability of the whistle-blower to do their job? Undermine the ability of the office to perform its function? Were the action of the whistle-blower proportionate to the public interset at sake? Release only of necessary information. Release of information in appropriate forum?

 

27)Consequences of the whistle blower

Those did not blow the whistle guilty of immorality. They doubt the loyalty of the whistle blower to the employer. The whistle blower is precived as a traitor,as someone who damaged the firm - a working family to which he/she belongs.

 

28)Conclusion:-

A whistle blowing incident is probably the most emotionaly difficult thing you can experiance as a proffessional. Not every incident that should result in whistle blowing dose , sometime the whistle is swalloed rather than blowen. In some cases, there are federal and state laws meant to provide protection for the whistle blower. If you find yourself in possible  whistle-blowing incident you should exhaust all internall alternatives for addressing the problem and accumulate all documentation possible. If blowing the whistle become the only alternative , then you should anticipate the job change and you should get good legale representative.

 

 29)Things to do to make a strong Whistle blower program

     Creating mechanisms for reporting wrongdoing that also reward individuals for the substantial risks they take should be a policy priority for anti-corruption and anti-fraud enforcement agendas globally. To be effective, a whistleblower program should:

Provide mandatory (rather than discretionary) percentage rewards to whistleblowers from the recoveries their information generate.  Whistleblowers face substantial personal and professional risk and require a clear financial upside to hedge those downside risks.  Moreover, successful and generous rewards also motivate other whistleblowers to step forward with significant information of fraud, further realizing anti-corruption and anti-fraud enforcement priorities. Create structures that foster partnerships with whistleblowers and their lawyers so that government anti-corruption efforts are enhanced by an inflow of private resources and expertise.  Whistleblower enforcement mechanisms, such as the False Claims Act and the SEC and CFTC whistleblower programs not only augment government enforcement efforts on particular matters, but also help enforcement generally by vetting and screening out weaker allegations before they are ever submitted to the federal agencies. Encourage – but do not require -- whistleblowers to report fraud and other wrongdoing through internal compliance programs before reporting the violations to the government.  (Future blog posts will discuss efforts by the so-called “fraud lobby” to kill the SEC’s whistleblower program by mandating internal reporting.) Keep whistleblowers’ identities confidential or anonymous as much as possible under the law. Provide for compensation for lost back-pay and other damages, as well as reinstatement if the whistleblower suffers retaliation in his/her employment. Exclude the architects of the fraud from collecting a reward and disqualify “parasitic” cases that bring no unique or original information to enforcement authorities. Create procedures that provide judicial oversight to ensure fairness in award decisions.

 

Countries may say that they have no need for whistleblower programs or that cultural impediments stop them.  But the continuing string of headline-grabbing business scandals (including the hidden losses at Japan's Olympus Corp.) demonstrates a clear need, and the international response to the SEC’s whistleblower program shows that cultural barriers are eroding.  As the SEC’s whistleblower program touches their shores, it’s time for legislators worldwide to develop strong whistleblower enforcement programs of their own.

EXAMPLE OF WHISTLE BLOWER POLICY

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The Whistle Blower Policy
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WHISTLEBLOWER POLICY
The Aditya Birla Group Values of Integrity, Commitment, Passion, Seamlessness, and Speed are the foundation for all actions and decisions we take. They set standards for the organization and for employee conduct.
To ensure that there is a common minimum standard of professional behavior, the Group has articulated Policy 769 - The Aditya Birla Group Code of Conduct / Redressal Process. This policy lists down broadly the identifiable and non-negotiable set of actions/behavior applicable to all employees across the Group. It provides direction and limits. It explains how to report violations/ potential violations of the Group Values or Aditya Birla Group’s Code of Conduct and the process of redressal.
Purpose of this policy The purpose of this policy is to articulate the Group’s point of view on whistleblowing, the process, and the procedure to strengthen whistle-blowing mechanism at Aditya Birla Group.
This policy:  Provides a platform and mechanism for the Employees and Directors to voice genuine concerns or grievances about unprofessional conduct without fear of reprisal  It provides an environment that promotes responsible and protected whistleblowing. It reminds Employees and Directors about their duty to report any suspected violation of any law that applies to the Group and any suspected violation of the Group Values or Aditya Birla Group’s Code of Conduct.  Above all, it is a dynamic source of information about what may be going wrong at various levels within the Group and which will help the Group in realigning various processes and take corrective actions as part of good governance practice.
Applicability of this policy All the listed companies and other companies of the Aditya Birla Group in India, which are required by law to have a vigil mechanism, shall adopt this policy and get it approved by its Board of Directors. All other companies in India are recommended to adopt this policy.
Coverage of this policy This policy is applicable to all the Group Companies in India, including all Employees* and Directors.
Definition of Employees* - An individual is an employee of the Aditya Birla Group of Companies who works 100% for us, directly or indirectly, under which the Group Companies have the right to control the details of work performance by providing specific wage or salary.
Who is a whistle blower? Any Employee or Director who discloses or demonstrates an evidence of an unethical activity or any conduct that may constitute breach of the Group’s/Group Company’s Code of Conduct or Group Values. This whistleblower has come to the decision to make a disclosure or express a genuine concern /grievance/allegations, after a lot of thought.
Protection The process is designed to offer protection to the whistleblower (employees and directors) provided that the disclosure made / concern raised / allegations made (“complaint”) by a whistleblower is in good faith and the alleged action or non-action constitutes a genuine and
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serious breach of what is laid down in the Group Values or Aditya Birla Group’s Code of Conduct , policy 769.
The Group affirms that it will not allow any whistleblower to be victimized for making any complaint. Any kind of victimization of the whistleblower brought to the notice of the Value Standards Committee ** will be treated as an act warranting disciplinary action and will be treated so.
As a Group, we condemn any kind of discrimination, harassment, victimization or any other unfair employment practice adopted against the whistleblowers. Complete protection will be given to the whistleblowers against any unfair practices like retaliation, threat or intimidation or termination/suspension of service, disciplinary action, transfer, demotion, refusal of promotion, or the like including any direct or indirect use of authority to obstruct the whistleblower’s right to continue to perform his/her duties/functions in a free and fair manner.
**- For further details, please refer to policy 769 - The Aditya Birla Group Code of Conduct / Redressal Process
Reporting in good faith Every Whistle Blower is expected to read and understand this policy and abide by it. It is recommended that any individual who wishes to report, do so after gathering adequate facts/data to substantiate the complaint and not complain merely on hearsay or rumour. This also means that no action should be taken against the whistleblower, if the complaint was made in good faith, but no misconduct was confirmed on subsequent investigation.
However, if a complaint, after an investigation proves to be frivolous, malicious or made with an ulterior intent, the Value Standards Committee shall take appropriate disciplinary or legal action against the concerned whistleblower.
List of exclusions The following types of complaints will ordinarily not be considered and taken up: 1. Complaints that are Illegible , if handwritten 2. Complaints that are vague , with pseudonyms 3. Complaints that are trivial or frivolous in nature 4. Matters which are pending before a court of Law, State, National Human Rights Commission, Tribunal or any other judiciary or sub judiciary body 5. Any matter that is very old from the date on which the act constituting violation is alleged to have been committed 6. Issue raised, relates to service matters or personal grievance
The Whistle Blowers are encouraged to make complaints that have an impact on Group’s Brand & reputation, cases of financial irregularities, or People related issues of bias, partiality, and discrimination of any kind, abuse, victimization or harassment.
Dealing with anonymity A whistleblower may choose to keep his/her identity anonymous. In such cases, the complaint should be accompanied with strong evidence and data.
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Confidentiality The Value Standards Committee will treat all complaints in a confidential and sensitive manner. In specific cases where the criticality and necessity of disclosing the identity of the whistleblower is important , it may be disclosed, on a ‘need-to-know-basis’, during the investigation process and only with the prior approval of the whistleblower.
Who is a whistle blower officer? For the purpose of this policy, the Company Secretary (or in his absence, the Legal Head) of the relevant Unit/Business would act as the Secretary of the relevant Values Standard Committee and is also known as a Whistle Blower officer.
Procedure for raising a complaint A whistleblower can make a compliant in multiple ways: 1. Can write to the relevant Value Standards Committee. The information about name of members and list of Value Standards Committee (VSC) at various levels, their e-mail id are available on the Values micro site that can be accessed from Poornata (https://www.poornataghr.com), or the Group’s Intranet Onstream, (http://www.abgonstream.com) .
2. A whistle blower can send a complaint to the ethics hotline by calling on a toll free number 1800 103 9868, or write to abg.whistleblower@ethicshelpline.in, or send a fax on 1800 103 9868 or mail it to P. O. Box No 71, DLF Phase 1, Qutub Enclave, Gurgaon – 122002, Haryana. . This is operated by an independent third party vendor.
3. By writing to the Chief People Officer or Company Secretary of the relevant Group Company, as these officials are duty bound to share the complaint with the Ethics Hotline.
4. By writing to Unit Head or Business Head of the