Some Good Questions About Whistleblowing

Why is the Whistleblower program, supposedly one of the crowning regulatory achievements of the SEC and something to crow about, run like a cloak and dagger operation? asks Harry Cassin, in the FCPA blog. He asks good questions about the program — Why are whistleblowers anonymous? Does every whistleblower need a lawyer to manage the process and claim a reward? Who are their lawyers? Are multiple whistleblowers in the same case represented by one or several firms? Do the same firms appear over and over again? — and many more, then concludes by wondering aloud why the government pays unidentified private citizens (of any nationality) enormous amounts of money with no public accountability or open and reviewable administrative or judicial process. “If anyone encountered this same scenario in another country — say, Russia, Angola, or Belize — wouldn’t they be highly skeptical?” he asks “And wouldn’t the scenario trigger serious scrutiny from the press, international organizations, and watchdog NGOs? It seems entirely out of step with our normal standards of transparency and accountability.”