Funanga, the Berlin-based instant cash payment service for online merchants ,today released a report on whistleblowing reports submitted to the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). Funanga submitted two Freedom of Information (FOI) requests to the FCA in 2022 and can reveal that whistleblowing reports decreased significantly in the aftermath of Covid, but are starting to rise again in 2022. Anonymous reports have also skyrocketed in 2022 since workers returned to the office. The research suggests that FCA efforts to encourage whistleblowers have not succeeded, that reports take too long to be actioned, and that the regulator is overlooking the elephant in the room – money laundering.

The FCA regulates the activity of more than 50,000 financial services firms in the UK and receives hundreds of reports of wrongdoing every year. These reports inform its regulatory efforts and helps it identify harm to consumers, markets, the economy and wider society. Key findings from the FOI report include:

• Whistleblowing reports to the FCA declined significantly during the pandemic (down 13% in 2021 compared to 2019. 2020 numbers were also down from March onwards
• Reports of wrongdoing have started to rise again in 2022. Reports in 2022 have risen by 6% compared to the same period in 2021. Anonymous reports have also risen by a massive 53% in 2022
• The most common type of wrongdoing reported to the FCA is about fitness and propriety
• Whistleblowing cases are often protracted – for example,...

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