The worldwide recession has provided a public call for greater transparency and accountability in financial markets. But the complexity and detail of these markets and companies make identifying wrongdoing difficult - to the point that often only insiders can identify when malfeasance occurs. What issues face international (and national) finance whistleblowers? Why is the only person being sent to jail in the recent UBS scandal (which involved illegal off-shore tax havens) the whistleblower, Bradley Birkenfeld, despite the fact that his disclosures allowed the government to recoup almost $800 million of fines, penalties and back-taxes? We talk with representatives from the Tax Justice Network and the Government Accountability Project. Then, Bille Garde is a whistleblower survivor who’s successfully turned lemons into lemonade. After disclosing improper behavior at a U.S. Census office, she faced retaliation not only professionally, but also personally. After gaining a measure of justice for herself, she became an attorney and has made a career of helping others with the courage to stand up to wrongdoing.
WWYW is a multimedia program focusing on issues of accountability, that is produced by the Government Accountability Project, the nation’s leading whistleblower protection and advocacy organization. To learn more about the program, click here.
