State Dept Event with Uzbekistan Delegation Focuses on Impact of Whistleblower Laws

A delegation of anti-corruption officials visited the Kohn, Kohn & Colapinto offices on Friday, September 29 to discuss the potential use of whistleblower laws in Uzbekistan. The meeting was made possible through the U.S. State Department’s International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP), designed to promote transparency and accountability in international local and federal governments and build partnerships between foreign officials and their American counterparts.

Eager to hear about methods to enact accountability and defeat corruption, members were curious about the work of KKC, inquiring about modes of reporting wrongdoing and the process of whistleblower cases.

KKC founding partner Stephen M. Kohn reflected on the importance of these IVLP events: “I have addressed delegations from at least 75 countries, and no one person has ever sat around this table and knew that all this was happening. It’s way brand new, unknown. And that’s why I’m very thankful to the State Department for including us in these delegations.”

Seeking to dispel stereotypes about whistleblowers, Kohn opened the discussion by describing the typical whistleblower: a corporate, banking, or government insider with information on hidden corruption, ranging from market manipulation to bribery, to money laundering or commodity tax evasion.

Kohn then explained the whistleblower award framework within the United States. Existing legislation with guaranteed rewards and anonymity incentivizes private insiders to come forward. These whistleblowers are at the front line as a source of detection in operations designed to fly under the radar. Individuals worldwide can anonymously and confidentially report foreign bribery, money laundering, sanctions violations, and collusion.

Curious about the reporting process for whistleblowers from their country, Kohn informed the group that in order for an Uzbek whistleblower to have their disclosure taken by U.S. authorities, they would contact a law firm, disclosing their knowledge with the confidentiality of attorney-client privilege. The lawyer would then file a claim with the U.S. government, protecting the whistleblower’s identity.

The Uzbek delegation then inquired under what circumstances the Uzbek government would receive a payout from the convicted banks and corporations. Kohn informed the delegation: “There is a law that requires monies obtained in these types of cases to go to the victims of a crime. So they can use that money to give money back to the victimized country.” Uzbekistan would receive money from the case if Uzbek prosecutors and government worked in conjunction with the U.S. on a pertinent case.

The delegation then asked if a company or government structure could blow the whistle and report fraud under current transnational legislation. Current fraud legislation only applies to individuals, and foreign government employees cannot get awards under current legislation, which KKC disagrees with. However, qualification is possible for money laundering, as legislation has yet to be defined.

The delegation expressed their gratitude for learning this new information and their excitement to bring the knowledge to Uzbekistan, acknowledging how important and necessary this information is and the need for increased education around the issue.

KKC is grateful to the U.S. State Department for including the firm in the IVLP program, thus recognizing the role of whistleblowers in the anti-corruption effort. Providing educational opportunities to international delegations is necessary for closing the knowledge gap and helping whistleblowers bring their information to the proper authorities.