Whistleblowers may receive rewards of up to 25 minimum wages

People who report corruption may receive a reward of up to 25 times the minimum wage, and the payment would be exempt from income tax.

Operative Information Center-OMM reports that the provision is included in a new bill on encouraging and protecting people who report corruption-related offenses.

The bill was presented for discussion at a joint meeting today of the Milli Majlis (National Assembly) committees on defense, security and the fight against corruption, and on legal policy and state building.

Under the bill, if the information is confirmed, the person who reported it would be paid a reward within 10 working days by decision of the head of the organization. The payment would come from the organization’s budget or, in the case of budget-funded organizations, from their maintenance funds and extrabudgetary resources.

The reward could not exceed 25 times the minimum wage. Its amount would take into account the nature of the corruption-related offense, the number of facts reported, the importance of the information in detecting the offense, the damage caused and the value of assets recovered.

The bill also provides for an additional payment in cases where criminal proceedings result in a conviction or another final decision on incriminating grounds, or are terminated on grounds that do not exonerate the suspect. In accordance with the Criminal Procedure Code, the reporting person would receive 5% of the amount obtained from the sale, lease or transfer to management of property subject to special confiscation in the criminal case, after deducting costs related to its care and management; 5% of specially confiscated funds, after deducting banking costs and other payments established by regulatory legal acts; or 5% of the payment to the state budget required under criminal law, or of the material damage recovered for the state.

In other words, the person who reported the offense would receive 5% of the funds returned to the state or the material damage recovered as a result of the criminal case.

A decision to pay a reward in a criminal case would be made by an investigator, with the consent of the prosecutor overseeing the preliminary investigation during pretrial proceedings, or by the court hearing the case during trial.

Amendments proposed to the Tax Code in connection with the bill would exempt rewards received by people who report corruption from income tax.

The bill would establish a financial incentive for reporting corruption while linking the reward to the significance of the information and, in certain cases, to funds recovered for the state. Its provisions remain proposals under discussion by the parliamentary committees.