EU launches sanctions whistle-blower tool
‘Sharing first-hand information can be a powerful tool to help uncover cases of sanctions violations, including evasion and circumvention. By voluntarily providing us with information about EU sanctions violations of which you might be aware, you can help us investigate such practices and ensure sanctions compliance in the EU.’
So says the European Union, which has launched a new Whistleblower Tool for reporting violations: ‘The information reported can relate to EU sanctions violations, their circumstances, or the individuals, companies and third countries involved, which are not publicly known but are known to you. This can cover past, ongoing or planned sanctions violations, as well as attempts to circumvent EU sanctions.’
Such information, it says, might include ‘relevant country(ies); individuals or companies/organisations involved and their nationality or incorporation status/nature of business; description of the goods concerned (including their quantity, customs codes, export control classification, etc); other relevant information (bank/transaction details, flight number, vessel identification, etc).’
Detailing the procedure, the EU said, ‘When a report is filed via the EU Sanctions Whistleblower Tool, the assigned case officer at the Commission will examine the report and conduct a preliminary inquiry into the reported sanctions violation. If the whistleblower has set up a secure inbox to follow up on the report, the case officer may contact the whistleblower via the secure inbox to seek clarifications, ask for further information, and keep the whistleblower informed about the progress in evaluating the reported violation.
‘If the Commission considers that the information provided by the whistleblower is credible, it will share the anonymised report and any additional information gathered during the internal inquiry with the national competent authorities in the relevant Member State(s). The Commission may subsequently provide further assistance to the investigation, as needed, and periodically follow up on the investigation until a conclusion is reached.’
https://eusanctions.integrityline.com/app-page;appPageName=What%20happens%20with%20the%20report
