Switzerland’s Federal High Court today confirmed a lower court ruling, finding that Rudolf Elmer did not violate Swiss banking secrecy laws when he revealed information about offshore banking tax avoidance schemes. Breaking bank secrecy is a criminal matter in Switzerland that…
Category: cases
Jeffrey Sterling is free–but are we?
Jeffrey Sterling, a whistleblowing former CIA employee, emerged from prison last month after serving most of a 42-month sentence. Like his trial, his release drew little media attention, but his case has important implications for all Americans at a critical…
A special kind of courage: publishing the Pentagon Papers
Few men are willing to brave the disapproval of their fellows, the censure of their colleagues, the wrath of their society. Moral courage is a rarer commodity than bravery in battle or great intelligence. Yet it is the one essential,…
Judge blocks Justice Department effort to shortchange whistleblower
When the U.S. Department of Justice accepted a $192.7 million settlement from Endo Pharmaceuticals for “a decade’s worth of fraud that ripped off Medicare and Medicaid for over $700 million dollars,” it left Endo with a generous profit from the…
Whistleblowers and the prosecution loophole
(Commentary) by Shanna Devine (Government Accountability Project) and Liz Hempowicz (Project on Government Oversight) Published in The HIll, March 12, 2015 When facing the prospect of criminal prosecution for leaking highly classified material to his mistress and later lying about it…