Whistleblowing in Malta : a note on recent developments, proposals and missed opportunities

Abstract

A famous whistleblowing case of some years ago had a distinct Maltese flavour. This was the notorious case concerning a well-known multinational pharmaceutical firm. A Maltese citizen, Stanley Adams, a senior executive with this multinational company, discovered that his employers were engaging in price-fixing and other breaches of the competition laws. He revealed details of this illegal activity to the E.U. competition authorities in Brussels. For his pains, he was hounded and investigated, ending up in a Swiss jail for the unauthorised disclosure of business secrets. He later won some damages. Adams wrote a book about his experiences, a clear indictment of a system where business and the State apparatus can conspire "to send whistleblowers to jail to punish them for whistleblowing".