Whistleblowing has the aim of bringing to light crimes of general interest of a public or private organization

part of those who work or are in contact with it in carrying out their activities.

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The discipline of whistleblowing
Legislative Decree n. 24/2023 implementing the European Directive no. 1937/2019

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The main elements of the discipline:

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• Crime prevention tool;

• Manifestation of a right;

• Single regulatory text reporting channels and protections (public and private sector);

• Greater whistleblower protection.

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The decree entrusts ANAC - National Anti-Corruption Authority with three powers: regulatory power, power to manage external reports and sanctioning power.

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The reporting channels generally envisaged to make an offense known are the following:

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• Internal – company whistleblowing procedure

• External managed by ANAC

• Public Disclosures

• Report authorities

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CORPORATE REPORTING CHANNEL

THE ADAPTATION TERMS

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Since the entry into force of the regulation, all companies that fall within the scope of the Decree are obliged to make their own crime reporting channel available.

For companies with more than 250 employees in the previous year (on average), the obligation is from July 15, 2023.  The broader deadline of December 17, 2023 refers to private sector entities that have employed up to 249 workers in the last year.

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The scope of application of the discipline differs based on:

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• subject of the violation;

• nature of the entity, public or private, to which the reporting person belongs;

• size of the private entity and concrete applicability: the Decree extends the obligation to implement a crime reporting channel also to companies in the so-called sensitive sectors (for example: financial markets, prevention of money laundering and terrorist financing, transport safety and environmental protection) with an average number of employees less than 50 in the previous year.

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What can be reported?

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• Administrative, accounting, civil and criminal offences

• Illegal conduct or violations of organizational models (where applicable)

• Violations of European regulatory provisions

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The provisions do not apply to disputes or claims of personal interest / individual relationships.

The timeframe for taking charge of reports is 7 days and closing the investigation within 90 days.

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For private sector entities, the Decree also provides for the burden of proceduralizing activities relating to Whistleblowing by integrating the system of internal controls and organizational structures through the activation of an efficient internal channel that allows timely and effective management of reports.

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THE SANCTIONS

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ANAC can impose sanctionsfrom 10,000 euros to 50,000 euros in the following cases:

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• If retaliation has been committed or when it is established that reporting has been hindered;

• If reporting channels have not been established, or procedures have not been adopted for their implementation and management.

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PRIVACY DISCLAIMER

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