Whistleblowers internally at FI

Whistleblowing can relate to improprieties such as FI acting in violation of legal regulations, for example not following procurement regulations, or the occurrence of economic crime, corruption and bribes. In order to be subject to the protection for whistleblowers, it must be in the interest of the public that the impropriety becomes known.  

The whistleblower function must be used when it submitting the notification in another manner is not helpful or is unsuitable.

Notifications are submitted via FI's intranet, if possible. 

Who may submit a notification?

A person who works or has worked at FI and other who has or has had a working relationship with FI may submit a notification through the whistleblower function. This includes

• Employees and contractors at FI
• Consultants at FI
• Employment-seekers or interns at FI
• Persons who have belonged to one of the above categories and been party to the information during their time in the organisation.

How to submit a notification

The easiest way to submit a notification is via FI’s intranet. If you do not have access to the intranet, you can send a letter, call, or book an in-person meeting. 

• Letter: Send to Finansinspektionen, Box 7821, SE-103 97 Stockholm, Sweden. Write “Internal whistleblowing” on the envelope.
• Call the switchboard at +46 (0)8 408 980 00 and ask to be transferred to a security administrator.

Please include

• as clear of a description as possible of the observations of work-related improprieties or irregularities,
• the names of the people involved in the observation,
• any documentation of the observation,
• contact details (voluntary).

Whistleblowers may be anonymous

As a whistleblower, you are entitled to anonymity if you so choose. FI will not require you to identify yourself. 

FI may not investigate who has submitted the notification, obstruct the submission of the notification, or retaliate in any way against the person submitting the notification. If a person has faced retaliatory action as a result of their whistleblowing, they may be entitled to compensation.

The Whistleblowing Act also provides protection in the form of so-called discharge from liability. This means that, as a rule, a whistleblower may not be held responsible for having disregarded a confidentiality obligation. This applies on the condition that the person, at the time the notification was submitted, had reasonable cause to assume that it was necessary to submit the notification to reveal the impropriety. The discharge from liability, however, does not extend to the release of documents.

Confidentiality

FI is a government authority. This means that information and documents submitted via the whistleblowing function are considered public documents and may need to be released to the public in accordance with the principle of public access. If you have provided your identity in the notification, as a rule it will be subject to secrecy pursuant to Chapter 17, section 3b and Chapter 32, section 3b of the Public Access to Information and Secrecy Act. Information that could reveal the identity of the person submitting the notification, however, may not be released. Information that could reveal the identity of other persons included in the matter may only be revealed if it is clear that this can be done without the individuals experiencing harm or suffering. 

Exceptions from the protection against retaliatory actions

In order to be covered by the act’s protection against retaliatory action, the person submitting the notification must have cause to believe that the information is true at the time of submission. A person submitting the notification may not do so to discredit a person or for personal benefit. A person who submits inaccurate information could be committing a crime.

In addition, the protection in the act against retaliatory action does not apply when reporting protective security-classified information pursuant to the Protective Security Act. This relates to information subject to qualified secrecy to protect national security.