This isn’t rocket science. No it has nothing to do directly with science. Its about money and fairness and protection for those who speak out about injustice…which indirectly affects science as well as you and me. But most importantly, this story provides a clear example of how whistleblowers are treated in this country. And it ain’t a pretty picture. See this link from the government accountability project regarding Brad Birkenfeld, a UBS banker who blew the whistle on UBS and offshore tax havens.
THE IRS just got 5000 tax deferred accounts from Swizterland. Maybe the whistlblower is entitled to the 10-15% of the fines that will ensue.
ReplyDeleteApril and I went to a whislteblower law firm in D.C. and showed them written proof of how it is all done, via KPMG and Kaiser was involved. Kaiser has more than just "healthcare facilities" and is a great funnel of slush money and off shore accounts leading to Switzerland. UBS isn't the only only onvestment company, try Fidelity. April and I atill await for our 10-15%.
Dina Padilla
Yes, it also crossed my mind that the government just didn't want to pay this whistleblower the money owed him. According to this particular statute, the whistleblower gets a percentage of the fraudulent money that he reports. So in this case with UBS, Mr. Birkenfeld would get a huge bundle of money since the amount of money he exposed is a magnificent sum. Perhaps that was the government’s motivation to throw him in jail. Who knows.
ReplyDeleteIf money is the issue here with Mr. Birkenfeld, perhaps the lawmakers should consider changing the statute to cap-off the amount of money a whistleblower can get from reporting monetary fraud against the government.
A whistleblower deserves fair compensation for losing their job and career, which IS NOT a small sum of money. Think about if you were to loose your job and career what financial devastation that would be to you. It is not only losing their jobs that the whistleblower has to worry about, but also the threats against their lives and invasion into their lives.
But whistleblowers don’t need to overly compensated either. And my guess is that most whistleblowers do not want to be. They are blowing the whistle to protect the public and not as a gimmick to make profit for themselves.
Nevertheless, No matter what the case…Mr. Birkenfeld treatment is just another heinous example that it doesn’t pay to blow the whistle.
Providing inadequate whistleblower protection does not serve the American people nor the public’s interest. In the long run, it is the public who pays the price when the government does not protect whistleblowers …and that price will be very costly in all aspects. Too bad for Mr. Birkenfeld and too bad the public. You won’t find too many people speaking up for public interests after this.