Wirecard whistleblower starts platform to detect wrongdoing

The whistleblower who helped take down German payment operator Wirecard AG is starting a platform to facilitate the detection and reporting of misconduct at companies.

Pav Gill, the former Singapore-based head of legal for Wirecard's Asia-Pacific region, is setting up whistleblowing platform Confide, the 40 year-old told Bloomberg News by phone. Confide is catering to companies that want to boost their corporate governance, including those operating in the European Union, where new legislation is forcing companies to make reporting of misconduct easier.

Authorities across the world are increasingly recognizing the role of whistleblowers in exposing misconduct, after several high-profile cases over the past years. Gill was the key figure in revealing the fraud at Wirecard, one of Germany's most valuable companies before it admitted three years ago that €1.9 billion ($2.1 billion) in assets probably never existed. 

Bloomberg

The EU's top markets watchdog criticized German regulators' handling of the matter at the time. The bloc in 2019 agreed on new rules ensuring minimum protection for whistleblowers. Organizations with more than 50 employees will have to set up internal channels to allow people to report irregularities related to areas including tax fraud, money laundering, environmental protection and public health. 

Gill lifted his own identity in 2021 and has since become a keynote speaker on the topics of whistleblowing and corporate governance. He was awarded the ACFE Cliff Robertson Sentinel Award and the Blueprint for Free Speech Special Recognition Award, for integrity and bravery in the public interest.