Reports of illicit conduct - Whistleblowing

What is Whistleblowing

It is a legal institution expressly provided for by Law no. 190/2012 (so-called Anti-corruption Law) and now regulated by Legislative Decree no. 24/2023, concerning: "Implementation of Directive (EU) 2019/1937 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2019 concerning the protection of persons who report violations of Union law and containing provisions concerning the protection of people who report violations of national regulatory provisions", with which, in order to strengthen the capacity of the public administration to discover and combat illicit facts, special forms of protection are provided in favor of the whistleblower (so-called whistleblower).

Decree 24/2023, in fact, regulates the methods of protection of people who report violations of national or European Union regulatory provisions which harm the public interest or the integrity of the public administration or private entity, of which they are learned in a public or private working context.

For any further information on the subject of the report and subjects obliged to apply the aforementioned legislation, please refer to the Guidelines recently approved by ANAC and contained in the "Attachments" section.

  • The employees of the Municipality of Milan;
  • Self-employed workers, freelancers and consultants who carry out their activities for the benefit of the Municipality of Milan;
  • Volunteers and interns, including unpaid ones, of the Municipality of Milan;
  • Workers or collaborators who carry out their work for public sector or private sector entities that supply goods or services or carry out works.

The reports may concern violations (of national law or EU law) already committed or not yet committed, when there is concrete evidence to believe that they will be committed and which consist of:

  • administrative, accounting, civil or criminal offences;
  • significant illicit conduct pursuant to L.190/2012, or violations of the organization and management models provided therein (PIAO);
  • offenses falling within the scope of European Union or national acts relating to the following sectors: public procurement; financial services, products and markets and prevention of money laundering and terrorist financing; product safety and compliance; transport safety; environmental Protection; radiation protection and nuclear safety; food and feed safety and animal health and welfare; public health; consumer protection; protection of privacy and protection of personal data and security of networks and information systems;
  • acts or omissions detrimental to the financial interests of the Union;
  • acts or omissions relating to the internal market;
  • acts or behavior which frustrate the object or purpose of the provisions set out in Union acts.

At the time of reporting, the reporting person must have reasonable and reasonable grounds to believe that the information about the reported, publicly disclosed or reported violations is true and within the scope of the law.

Irregularities in the management or organization of the activity, as well as disputes, claims or requests linked to a purely personal interest of the whistleblower which relate exclusively to their individual working relationships, cannot be reported through the use of the whistleblowing institute. or public employment even with hierarchically superior figures. Therefore, for example, reports regarding labor disputes, discrimination between colleagues, interpersonal conflicts between the reporting person and another worker are excluded.

Pursuant to the aforementioned Legislative Decree no. 24/2023, reports reporting the commission of retaliatory acts allegedly suffered as a result of reporting the illicit act must be forwarded exclusively to ANAC who will carry out the necessary investigations, imposing the administrative sanction provided for by law on the person responsible, in the event that the report is well founded.

You can use the dedicated platform which allows the reporting of behaviors, acts or omissions that damage the public interest or the integrity of the administration.

Once the report has been made, the platform in use releases a code that allows the reporter to check the status of the case, identifying any requests for clarification, also sending useful documents or information, as well as knowing the outcome of the report.

If the report is too general and does not allow the necessary investigations to be carried out, and if the reporting party does not respond to the request for clarification within 20 days, it will be archived.

The platform for reporting illicit facts combines the essential requirement of confidentiality and protection of the identity of the reporter with that of accessibility and security.

Through this institute, the Municipality of Milan, in its anti-corruption function, intends to provide an operational tool for ensuring ethics and legality, to achieve an improvement in its organization and the relationships between it and the citizens.

The RPCT support unit provides for:

  • give notice to the reporting person of receipt of the report within 7 days of the date of its receipt;
  • maintain discussions with the reporting person and request additions from the latter, if necessary;
  • diligently follow up on reports received;
  • carry out the investigation necessary to follow up on the report, including through hearings and acquisition of documents;
  • give feedback to the reporting person within 3 months;
  • communicate the final outcome of the report to the reporting person.

The platform for reporting illicit facts combines the essential requirement of confidentiality and protection of the identity of the reporter with that of accessibility and security to the data that are the subject of the report.

Through this institute, the Municipality of Milan, in its anti-corruption function, intends to provide an operational tool for ensuring ethics and legality, to achieve an improvement in its organization and the relationships between it and the citizens.

Updated: 27/07/2023