Interview

Pav Gill on courage, whistleblowing, and building the Confide Platform

Monday 26 August 2024 09:26 CET | Editor: Mirela Ciobanu | Interview

Pav Gill, Founder & CEO of the Confide Platform, discusses courage, whistleblowing, and the Confide Platform.


Pav, your story of uncovering the Wirecard scandal is truly fascinating. How did you find the courage and support to reveal the truth, and what are the top three lessons you’ve learned from this experience?

Uncovering the truth about Wirecard was a deeply challenging experience, but my guiding principle was simple: integrity. The courage to speak out came from knowing that the truth had to be told, no matter the personal cost. Support came from my mother and very close confidants who reminded me of the bigger picture—ensuring that justice was served.

The top three lessons I’ve learned are:

  1. Integrity over everything: The importance of staying true to your values, even when it's difficult.

  2. Support systems matter: Having a reliable network is crucial when facing adversity.

  3. Resilience is key: You must be prepared for a long, challenging road when standing up for what's right.


Your experience led to the creation of the Confide Platform. For those who aren’t familiar with the Confide Platform, what is it?

The Confide Platform is a comprehensive compliance and integrity SaaS solution designed to help organisations securely manage sensitive reports and investigations. It provides an end-to-end solution for reporting, tracking, and resolving incidents such as corporate misconduct, AML investigations, and serious customer complaints. By automating processes and centralising data, Confide enables organisations to enhance transparency, reduce risks, and build trust.

 

What exactly is whistleblowing, and how is it regulated?

In simple terms, whistleblowing involves reporting unethical or illegal activities within an organisation. It is regulated differently across jurisdictions, with laws like the EU Whistleblowing Directive and the US Sarbanes-Oxley Act offering protections to whistleblowers. These regulations aim to protect individuals from retaliation while ensuring that serious concerns are appropriately investigated.

 

Many banks already have whistleblowing systems in place. How can they ensure their employees trust and actively use these systems?

For whistleblowing systems to be effective, trust is paramount. Banks can build this trust by ensuring the system is user-friendly, confidential, and secure. Regular training and clear communication about the process can help employees feel confident in using the system. Moreover, it’s essential that management demonstrates a commitment to addressing issues raised, which reinforces trust in the system’s effectiveness. A key area that often needs improvement is effectively training whistleblowing case managers on how to conduct investigations. This is also where Confide excels, and I’m frequently asked to lead these training sessions, drawing on my experience as both an in-house general counsel and a whistleblower.

 

What are the benefits of end-to-end solutions that record, keep track of, and encrypt employee communications?

The issue with many existing solutions in the market is that they focus only on one part of the journey, such as receiving reports. What differentiates the Confide Platform is its end-to-end capabilities. End-to-end solutions provide a secure and transparent way to manage sensitive communications, ensuring that all interactions are encrypted and recorded in a tamper-proof manner. This not only protects the confidentiality of the information but also creates an audit trail that can be crucial during investigations. Such solutions help organisations maintain compliance, reduce the risk of data breaches, and build trust with employees and regulators.

 

What’s next for you and the Confide Platform?

We are in the midst of a fundraise to meet increasing customer demand, scale, and to expand the platform’s capabilities to address a broader range of compliance challenges. This includes integrating more advanced analytics to enhance our platform’s ability to detect and prevent misconduct proactively. Additionally, we are looking to expand our global reach, partnering with more organisations to help them build stronger cultures of integrity and compliance.

 

About Pav Gill

Pav Gill is a pivotal figure in corporate governance and ethics, renowned for exposing the EUR 24 billion Wirecard fraud. As a former Magic Circle lawyer and fintech general counsel, he has handled complex legal and ethical issues worldwide. His experience fuels the early success of the Confide Platform, a governance software he founded in late 2023 that allows organisations to receive, investigate, and resolve concerns all in one place. Pav’s insights on corporate ethics are featured in major documentaries and top-tier media. His contributions have earned him the Blueprint for Free Speech Award and the ACFE Cliff Robertson Sentinel Award. A sought-after keynote speaker, Pav delivers transformative insights on ethical leadership, transparency, and integrity. His work inspires regulatory reforms and a global revaluation of corporate governance standards, making a lasting impact on the field.

 

About Confide Platform

The Confide Platform is an automated trust & compliance platform that empowers organisations to confidentially receive, investigate, and resolve risks. Founded by prominent general counsel and Wirecard whistleblower, Pav Gill, Confide serves as an organisation's integrity hub and comprehensive compliance platform, built on trust and transparency.



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Keywords: compliance, money laundering, AML, fraud management
Categories: Fraud & Financial Crime
Companies: Confide Platform
Countries: World
This article is part of category

Fraud & Financial Crime

Confide Platform

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