Whistleblowing Hotline Guideline

Our Whistleblowing Hotline facilitates the reporting of possibly illegal, unethical, or improper conduct when the regular communication channels have proven ineffective or difficult.  

The Hotline is available to be used by any individual who has or has had, during the last 12 months:

• the status of employee in relation to KPMG in Moldova, within the meaning of labor legislation;
• the status of volunteer or intern in relation to KPMG in Moldova;
• contractual or other civil-law relations with KPMG in Moldova;
• the status of candidate for a vacant position at KPMG in Moldova, having participated in a recruitment process.

The Hotline is also available to be used by the following persons:

• the shareholders, partners, directors of KPMG in Moldova;
• our collaborators, including suppliers, subcontractors, external consultants, third party resources or other third parties working for KPMG in Moldova or with KPMG in Moldova in delivering services to clients, including people with self-employed status (such as self-employed persons providing services, freelance workers), and any persons working under the supervision and direction of such third parties indicated herein;
• our clients and any other person that KPMG in Moldova has or has had a professional relationship with;
• any person that will have a contractual relationship with KPMG in Moldova and has obtained information that should be reported, during the precontractual negotiations.

KPMG in Moldova has established this confidential reporting system to be used solely for reporting serious matters relating to, but not limited to:

• any criminal activity;
• dangers to health and safety;
• violations of environmental law, which are subject to a criminal or administrative penalty, violations of proceedings and other violations of environmental protection regulations;
• corruption, anti-trust activity, bribery (such as giving or receiving any gift or reward as a bribe), contrary to applicable legislation; 
• facilitating tax evasion; 
• financial fraud or mismanagement;
• money laundering and terrorism financing;
• breach of consumer protection law;
• violations of human rights (e.g. modern slavery, prohibition of child labor);
• breach of personal data protection laws;
• any other breaches of applicable law.

A whistleblowing report should contain at least the following information:

• the name, surname and contact details of the whistleblower (except in cases of anonymous reporting); 
• the workplace;
• the department where the whistleblower is employed; 
• the position held;
• the professional context in which the information was obtained;
• the person concerned by the report, if known;
• a description of the act likely to constitute a breach of the law;
• the evidence supporting the report;
• the date and signature (for written reports, except for anonymous reporting).

As mentioned above, you can also report matters anonymously (meaning without giving your name or identifying details), but it may make proper investigation more difficult or impossible if KPMG in Moldova cannot obtain further information from you. 

We encourage you to raise your concerns if they relate to:

• KPMG in Moldova or employees of the company or
• the management of KPMG in Moldova.

The whistleblowing hotline should not be used to officially lodge a complaint regarding the quality of the services offered or provided by KPMG in Moldova. In these cases, please contact the responsible engagement partner.

Complaints about other KPMG member firms

If your report relates to a KPMG member firm other than KPMG in Moldova, please contact the relevant member firm directly or use the KPMG International Hotline (select KPMG International). 

Our Whistleblowing Hotline offers three ways to report concerns: 

• via e-mail, at: speakup@kpmg.com, which is managed by the KPMG in Moldova Risk Leader, namely Bogdan Vlad;
• by completing the SpeakUp form (which is managed by the KPMG in Moldova Risk Leader, Bogdan Vlad). This reporting channel also offers the option for anonymous reporting;  

Contact details:
Risk Leader: Bogdan Vlad (bbalanescu@kpmg.com; +40745177465))

• via the KPMG International Hotline, by accessing a web-based reporting system at www.clearviewconnects.com (select KPMG International). The Whistleblowing Hotline meets the legal requirements for an internal reporting channel, in accordance with the Moldovan law, and also enables completely anonymous reports on request.

The reporting options are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and follow a similar format for gathering information. 

Whether reporting by e-mail, via the SpeakUp form or via the KPMG International hotline, all reports are handled confidentially, to the extent permitted by law and consistent with KPMG in Moldova’s obligation to investigate and address the reported conduct.

Reports are confidential, but we encourage providing personal details as this better enables us to investigate your concern. 

By reporting through one of the channels indicated above, your identity will be kept confidential at all stages of the process and will not be disclosed to third parties or individuals who are the subject of your report.

The exceptions to this include where it is necessary to disclose information to relevant persons involved in any further investigation of the matter or where disclosure is required under a legal obligation, for example, for any subsequent judicial or administrative proceedings or where material access is requested by any regulatory or government authority. Further exceptions may apply based on applicable laws.

Notwithstanding the above, you should be aware that in order to conduct an appropriate investigation into matters raised by you, it may be necessary for us to advise others of the substance of your report, on a need to know basis, for example in case of consultations by the Whistleblowing Officer with the internal Whistleblowing Committee or other advisors are needed (i.e. Head of Function; the People, Performance and Culture Director; General Counsel or a lawyer nominated by the General Counsel; other person or member of the leadership nominated by the Whistleblowing Officer, as necessary).

As such, your identity may become apparent, and you should consider this before submitting your report. However, as per the applicable law, your identity will not be disclosed to anyone other than those that need to know. If such cases arise, as needed, the Whistleblowing Officer will request, in writing, your express consent for the disclosure of your identity to other individuals. This also applies to all other information from which your identity can be directly or indirectly inferred.

If you wish to make your report anonymously, you can use the SpeakUp form or the web site facility, indicated above.

By using the KPMG International hotline web site facility, you will receive a password which will enable you to access the ClearView Connects case management system. This will allow us to communicate directly with you while preserving anonymity. If you forget or misplace your password, then you will have to submit a new report in order to regain access to the system; in this event it would be helpful if you could refer to the previously submitted report to enable us to make the appropriate connections.

All processing of personal data, including the exchange or transmission of personal data, will be carried out in accordance with the provisions of Law no. 133/2011 regarding the protection of personal data.

Unauthorized persons (i.e., persons other than the Whistleblowing Officer, or, if applicable, others with a legitimate need to know, indicated in the section Anonymity and Data Privacy) do not have access to your personal data or to information transmitted by you.

Personal data which is processed in the context of the KPMG International hotline web site facility will be transferred to ClearView Strategic Partners in Canada, a country which is recognized as providing a sufficient level of personal data protection, for the purpose of operating the KPMG International Hotline. 

Information contained within the reports and personal data (if not anonymous at the choice of the whistleblower), is kept for a period of 5 years starting with the registration date of the report. After the expiry of the 5-year retention period, the records should be destroyed, irrespective of their storage method. However, where the reports might reasonably be required as part of legal, regulatory or similar proceedings or by virtue of professional rules or obligations, full copies of reports, including any personal information, are retained for the relevant limitation period under applicable law.

If rectification, erasure or access to any personal data of both the whistleblower or the reported person is needed, please address your concern by approaching the same channel by which you sent/received the report/information. If considered necessary by the appointed Whistleblowing Officer, the Data Protection Officer could be involved in handling your request. In the event that a reported person receives confirmation of a report and/or their personal data contained in a report, your identity will remain confidential and will not be disclosed (unless one of the exceptions set out under Anonymity and data privacy applies).

ClearView ConnectsTM is a registered trademark of ClearView Strategic Partners Inc. 

Your report will initially be received and reviewed by KPMG in Moldova’s Whistleblowing Officer, who is the Risk Leader of KPMG in Moldova, namely Bogdan Vlad.  Appropriate initial action will be determined.

Reports we receive which do not fall within the scope of the hotline, for example because they relate to a different KPMG member firm, will either be referred to the appropriate firm or to KPMG International. Whether referred to another KPMG member firm or to KPMG International, your report will be subject to appropriate confidentiality and in accordance with our commitment to non-retaliation.

Everyone should feel confident speaking up in a safe environment about conduct and other issues considered to be unfair, unethical, illegal, or otherwise reportable during their professional activity. It is understandable that one may be worried about possible repercussions because of raising a concern.

KPMG in Moldova takes a zero-tolerance approach to any retaliation against any individual (internal or external) who raises a complaint. 

It is KPMG in Moldova's policy to encourage people to report concerns (“raise their hand”) without fear of retaliation in accordance with applicable law and regulation. KPMG in Moldova  is prohibited from retaliating against individuals who "raise their hand" for good faith reporting.

Examples of prohibited detrimental treatment or retaliation connected with raising a concern include:

• suspension, lay-off, dismissal or equivalent measures;
• demotion or withholding of promotion;
• transfer of duties, change of location of place of work, reduction in wages, change in working hours;
• withholding of training;
• a negative performance assessment or employment reference;
• imposition or administering of any disciplinary measure, reprimand or other penalty, including a financial penalty;
• coercion, intimidation, harassment or ostracism;
• discrimination, disadvantageous or unfair treatment;
• failure to convert a temporary employment contract into a permanent one, where the worker had legitimate expectations that he or she would be offered permanent employment;
• failure to renew, or early termination of, a temporary employment contract;
• harm, including to the person's reputation, particularly on social media, or financial loss, including loss of business and loss of income;
• blacklisting on the basis of a sector or industry-wide informal or formal agreement, which may entail that the person will not, in the future, find employment in the sector or industry;
• early termination or cancellation of a contract for goods or services;
• cancellation of a license or permit;
• psychiatric or medical referrals;
• other direct or indirect forms of retaliation, including against family members or persons close to the whistleblower.