Source: UBS fined €75,000 in France for harassing two whistleblowers
New landmark fines have been issued for whistleblower retaliation in France, it has been reported.
A court has ordered the Swiss bank UBS to pay significant fines for the detrimental treatment of two whistleblowers who exposed wrongdoing at the Bank.
The Paris Court sentenced UBS Europe to pay €75,000 fine – the maximum penalty – for the psychological harassment of two employees of the bank’s French subsidiary.
The whistleblowers – the former head of internal audit and former marketing manager – exposed tax evasion at the Bank – and legal proceedings are still ongoing.
According to one of the whistleblowers lawyer, William Bourdon, this is the first time that a French former employer of a whistleblower has been found guilty of psychological harassment. Bourdon was reportedly “happy and proud of this decision” despite it seeming “a little paltry” and emphasised that this is a “powerful message to the whistleblowers of tomorrow.”