LONDON — As sanctions ratchet up pressure on Moscow, the role of whistleblowers as central players in their enforcement is taking on fresh urgency.
Until now, the U.K. has been lagging behind other countries, especially the U.S., in giving whistleblowers both incentives and protections to encourage them to come forward.
That could change soon, as MPs began taking up on Monday the Economic Crime Bill, a measure that seeks to crack down on the vast flows of dirty money coming into the U.K.
Although whistleblower regulations weren’t in the bill's scope this time round, the government is under pressure to include them in a second round of white-collar criminal reforms to be considered in the coming months.
Conservative MP Kevin Hollinrake, who sits on the Treasury Committee, is joining up with other lawmakers to propose an amendment establishing an "office of the whistleblower" — with powers to reward those who come forward with evidence of crimes such as money laundering, bank fraud and sanctions-busting.
Exhibit A is one of Hollinrake's constituents, Ian Foxley. Despite exposing an international bribery scandal in the murky world of arms trading, he has spent “12 years without a penny” because the current legal framework doesn't provide any compensation.
"The problem is this touches the wider perception of whistleblowing, and whether it’s worth coming forward," Hollinrake said.
"[Disclosure] could have devastating consequences for those who do it," he added.
The U.K.'s...
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