SLOW burn Bernie

I've moaned about how slow things are to move against Irish fraudsters when compared to how quick the US authorities moved against Bernie Madoff. His sons blew the whistle in October 2008 and by March 2009 he was serving a life sentence. There's nothing like the immediate threat of jail to uncover any hidden stashes of money. But it seems the US financial watchdogs have not covered themselves in glory. Self-confessed 'Greek geek' Harry Markopolos has written No One Would Listen about his ten year battle to expose Madoff as a fraud. He was pointing the finger long before Madoff was forced to admit he was a conman. Check out this very interesting extract here.

POINTING the finger

It seems that people don't like to hear about their neighbours ripping off the welfare system anymore. The Department of Social Welfare have reported a record increase in the number of tip-offs from members of the public about suspected welfare fraud up from 1,044 in 2008 to 5,600 in 2009 (Read here).
If only the same civic spirit existed in the banking sector then the currently long, slow and painful process of investigation into Anglo Irish Bank might be going a bit a quicker.
These are some the issues that may be touched on by Transparency International's seminar next Monday in Dublin on the topic of protecting whistleblowers. Speakers include former AIB auditor Eugene McErlean and Bernadette Sullivan a former nurse at the Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda.

WHISTLEBLOWERS

It ain't easy being a whistleblower, but the least the State should do is protect those who are properly motivated. Transparency International have raised the issue today as Ireland improves its ranking on the international corruption index to 14th. That ranking says a lot about the rest of the world's 180 countries. Also, author Andrew Sweeney in his book Banana Republic suggests that whistleblowers should be rewarded with 10 per cent of the cash saved in any abuse of a government contract. Last week a case in the Commercial Court highlighted how the whistleblower can end up at the wrong end of the stick. The solicitor who called foul in the firm of fugitive lawyer Michael Lynn is at the centre of accusations by Lynn's insurers trying to avoid liability for the mess he created. The thanks you get...