The UK government has launched a consultation on reforming whistleblowing laws, seeking to give the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) powers to reward individuals who report economic crime, a move experts view with scepticism.
On Monday, business secretary Jonathan Reynolds and minister for the future of work, Kate Dearden, revealed the government’s plans for a “whistleblowing framework that effectively supports the reporting of serious wrongdoing, while being simple for workers and employers to understand and use.”
Following a review by Jonathan Fisher KC, the government is now consulting on eligibility, reward caps, and whether to criminalise false reports or harassment of whistleblowers under the scheme, which opened on Monday and closes on 8 January 2027.
Former director Nick Ephgrave, who stepped down from the leadership position earlier this year, pushed the government to adopt US-inspired monetary rewards for tips on serious economic crime and corporate fraud to boost enforcement.
Legal professionals, while seeing the value this regime could bring to the anti-fraud agency, raised concerns about how financial motives will play out in front of juries, the moral implications, and potential damage to internal corporate trust.
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