Top Whistleblower Lawyer Explains Rights for International Whistleblowers

Ben Kostyack

Published On: November 19th, 2019

On November 11^th, 2019, whistleblower lawyer Stephen M. Kohn, partner at the qui tam law firm Kohn, Kohn & Colapinto, delivered a presentation at the OffshoreAlert Conference Europe in London. The presentation, Holding International Fraudsters Accountable: How Non-U.S. Citizens Can Participate in U.S. Whistleblower Reward Programs, explained how non-U.S. citizens could qualify for whistleblower rewards. Those who report tax evasion, securities fraud, commodities fraud, ocean pollution, wildlife trafficking, foreign corruption, and bribery could be eligible for whistleblower rewards under U.S. laws.

Foreign nationals who report crimes to the proper authorities can be eligible for whistleblower awards under serval major U.S. laws, including the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, False Claims Act, Securities Exchange Act, and Commodity Exchange Act.

“It is essential for non-U.S. citizens to understand the transnational application of U.S. whistleblower laws and reward programs,” Kohn said. “International whistleblowers can now use U.S. programs to earn whistleblower awards, fight corruption, and help recover millions of dollars for taxpayers every year.”

Kohn has represented whistleblowers for over 30 years, including international whistleblowers who exposed foreign corruption from several countries.

Kohn currently represents Danske Bank money laundering whistleblower Howard Wilkinson. Last year, Kohn and Wilkinson testified before the Danish Parliament and the EU Parliament to voice their concerns over the deficiencies in whistleblower protections in Denmark.

Wilkinson, a British citizen who was working at an Estonian branch of Danske Bank, made several whistleblower reports that uncovered billions of dollars of dirty money flowing out of Russia. Authorities linked over $20 billion in fraudulent financial activity to this money-laundering scandal, which some say could be the largest in world banking history.

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