New York regulators fined Barclay’s bank $15 million after CEO Jes Staley attempted to unmask a whistleblower in 2016. The whistleblower had anonymously written two letters to Barclay’s board expressing concern that Tim Main had been hired to run the financial institutions group.
Staley told his board he thought unmasking a whistleblower was legal — and while he was able to keep his position as CEO he was publicly reprimanded by the bank. The New York State Department of Financial Services acknowledged that Staley was likely trying to protect his friend and colleague from what he felt was “unwanted and unfair publicity”, but nonetheless determined Barclays’ “shortcomings in governance, controls and corporate culture” breached New York state banking laws. Staley had been fined previously for these same actions by U.K. regulators.
Corporate whistleblowers enjoy certain protections under the law and it is essential that they feel safe to come forward and shed light on illegal practices in the workplace. BLG handles whistleblowing and retaliation cases and we encourage you to review this article and become familiar with whistleblower laws to better understand employees’ rights – especially in the financial services sector. #BLG #whistleblowersrights