The U.S. Supreme Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit made a ruling permitting corporations to hide documentation of fraud obtained in internal corporate compliance investigations. A whistleblower who formally worked for the defense contractor KBR is seeking review and appeal of this ruling, because in effect, it permits companies to gag employees who try to report fraud and prevent the release of evidence proving fraud and misconduct despite the False Claims Act. The whistleblower from KBR claims that by this ruling, KBR is permitted to keep secret internal investigatory records that contain evidence of millions of dollars in defense contracting fraud committed during the War in Iraq. If overturned, KBR will be required to repay the federal government three times the amount of what was fraudulently charged to the government.
Corporate compliance programs are meant to prevent and identify potential violations, and ensure compliance is maintained with all applicable laws and regulations. A fundamental part of corporate compliance programs revolves around ethics. If companies are allowed to keep evidence of fraud secret, then that brings into question the integrity of the entire corporate compliance program. At C2I we feel very strongly about acting with integrity in every aspect of business dealings. We encourage and can help companies set up corporate compliance programs built on a solid ethical foundation to ensure they are following both the letter of the law and the spirit of the law.
You can find more information on the KBR whistleblower case at:
http://www.whistleblowers.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1534&Itemid=71
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