Whistleblow at Your Own Risk: Former UBS Investment Manager Faces Reprisal

At a time when the industry has seen an uptick in Whistleblower rewards doled out by regulators, a former investment manager at UBS has found himself on the opposite side of the fence, after claiming unfair dismissal and treatment for whistleblowing.

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A number of regulators foster the use of whistleblowers through incentivized programs to help aid in investigations. Regulators such as the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) routinely reward individuals or whistleblowers that have been instrumental in providing valuable information regarding violations of the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) or other investigations.

Wrongful Treatment?

O’Connor is a multi-strategy hedge fund manager within UBS Asset Management – the group is claiming unfair dismissal and citing unfair treatment by the lender for its role in whistleblowing. Consequently, Meraj Sepehrnia, a former O’Connor portfolio manager, has made a claim against UBS, which is scheduled to be heard at a London employment tribunal next month.

Sepehrnia is claiming to have incurred a dismissal due to exercising his rights as a whistleblower, a recent manifest showed – this also includes failure of his employer to pay. O'Connor originally hired Sepehrnia back in August 2013, who has since relinquished his status with the group as of June 8, 2016, according to the FCA register.