Revisiting Financial Services Sector Transparency through Whistleblowing: The Case of South Africa and Switzerland

The recent global financial crisis has demonstrated the ineffectiveness of traditional regulation in averting financial crime. Consequently the supervision of financial institutions has been increasingly re-evaluated and such endeavours have resulted in the reregulation of the sector in many jurisdictions. This article argues that, much as these strategies can be said to be laudable, until they emphasize engagement with the people who work in those institutions through making it possible for them to report corporate misconduct, these legislative paradigms will not avail much. As such, this article argues for the increased use of insiders through whistleblowing as a mechanism to support the exposure of illegal activities. By comparing the whistleblowing approaches adopted in South Africa and Switzerland, this article attempts to contribute to the standardization of approaches that can be used to enhance global financial sector transparency and minimize financial crime.