For example, the Whistleblower Protection Act does not cover natural persons who report information to BaFin that does not have any connection with their professional activity. This is why, when you submit information, we ask you whether the information you wish to divulge was obtained in a professional context. You can only be protected by the Act if this is actually the case.

Regardless of whether whistleblowers submit a report in connection with their jobs, the same standards of identity protection apply for all reports. Please note: BaFin will be pleased to inform you about the conditions and extent of protection offered by the Whistleblower Protection Act. The final decision as to whether you are actually entitled to protection then lies with the competent courts.

Persons entitled to protection under the Whistleblower Protection Act are.

• the whistleblower
• persons supporting the whistleblower
• third parties with connections to the whistleblower
• legal entities.

The following conditions must be fulfilled:

1. Conditions under which whistleblowers are protected

Natural persons who have obtained information in connection with or before commencing their professional activity and who contact us via our reporting channels can be protected under the Whistleblower Protection Act. The professional framework is to be understood in a very wide context. You will always be protected by the Act if you have obtained information in the widest sense in a professional context. The protection can also include interns, volunteers and members of a company’s governing bodies, such as supervisory board members. You can also be protected by the Act if your working relationship has already ended, if you are in the process of applying or are being recruited for a new job.

Furthermore, you must fulfil the following conditions:

• you have contacted BaFin as an external reporting office and
• you had sufficient grounds at the time you made the report to assume that your information is truthful and
• you had at least sufficient grounds at the time you made the report to assume that your information related to violations that lie within the scope of the Whistleblower Protection Act.

2. Conditions under which persons supporting whistleblowers are protected

Besides the whistleblowers themselves, natural persons confidentially supporting the whistleblower with the submission of their report can also be protected by the Whistleblower Protection Act. The support must be given in connection with the person’s professional activity. For example, simply providing emotional support in a private context does not fall under this category.

The following conditions must also be fulfilled:

• at the time you were providing support you had at least sufficient grounds to assume that the information that the whistleblower was reporting was true and
• at the time you were providing support you had at least sufficient grounds to assume that the information being reported related to infringements that lie within the scope of the Whistleblower Protection Act.

3. Conditions under which third parties with connections to whistleblowers are protected

Third parties who have connections to the whistleblower and have suffered reprisals in a professional context can also be protected by the Whistleblower Protection Act. This is not the case if the reprisal is not attributable to the report submitted by the whistleblower. Examples of persons potentially eligible to such protection are colleagues, friends or family members.

The following conditions must also be fulfilled:

• the whistleblower himself/herself fulfils all conditions under number 1. and
• you have suffered reprisals in the professional context. You will also have to prove this before a court of law.

Reprisals must be understood broadly; they mean all actions or omissions in connection with your professional activities which are a reaction to a report and as a result of which you are or could be put at an unfair disadvantage. The professional context in which reprisals were suffered can be, for example, a shared working place or other professional contacts.

4. Conditions under which legal entities are protected

Legal entities, business partnerships with legal capacity and other associations of individuals can also be protected under the Whistleblower Protection Act. This includes, for example, companies that work together with companies to which the report relates.

The following conditions must also be fulfilled:

• the whistleblower himself/herself fulfils all conditions under number 1. and
• the legal entity is legally associated with the whistleblower on account of a participation, the whistleblower works for the legal entity or is otherwise connected to the legal entity in a professional context.