Whistleblowing Channel

Cluttons Portugal, in compliance with Directive (EU) 2015/849 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 May 2015 on the prevention of the use of the financial system for the purposes of money laundering or terrorist financing, amending Regulation (EU) No 648/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council, and repealing Directive 2005/60/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council and Commission Directive 2006/70/EC (Text with EEA relevance), and in compliance with Law No. 93/2021, which establishes the general regime for the protection of whistleblowers of offences, transposing Directive (EU) 2019/1937 – the “Whistleblower Directive” of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2019 on the protection of persons who report breaches of Union law, hereby sets out its internal reporting channel.

What is it?

The internal reporting channel of Cluttons Portugal allows the Whistleblower to submit and follow up on a report in a secure, integral, confidential, and anonymous manner.

It is part of the company’s ethics and compliance programmes, which cover all relevant operational areas, such as tax and labour obligations, cybersecurity, personal data protection, and the prevention of economic offences and terrorist financing.

Who can report?

A Whistleblower is an individual who has obtained information in the course of their professional activity during their professional relationship with Cluttons Portugal, regardless of the nature of the activity or the sector in which it is carried out.

Professional relationships may include:

Employees under contract;

Service providers, contractors, subcontractors, and suppliers, as well as anyone acting under their supervision and direction;

Shareholders and persons belonging to administrative, management, supervisory, or oversight bodies of legal entities, including non-executive members;

Volunteers and interns, whether paid or unpaid;

Recruitment processes;

Any other phase of pre-contractual negotiations of a professional relationship, whether or not established.

How to submit a report

If you wish to make a report to Cluttons Portugal, you may do so in writing, anonymously or with identification, to the following email address: [email protected], with the subject line “Confidential”.

Alternatively, you may report verbally, in person (by requesting a meeting for that purpose) or by telephone, asking to speak with the compliance officer responsible for regulatory matters.

Tel.: +351 215 807 080

What happens after you submit a report?

Cluttons Portugal will notify the Whistleblower, within seven days, of receipt of the report and will inform them, in a clear and accessible manner, of the requirements, competent authorities, and the procedures for and admissibility of external reporting, in accordance with Article 7(2) and Articles 12 and 14 of Law No. 93/2021.

Cluttons Portugal will then carry out appropriate internal procedures to verify the allegations made. If necessary, it will take measures to cease the reported offence, including launching an internal investigation or notifying the competent authority to investigate the offence, including EU institutions, bodies, or agencies.

Within a maximum of three months from the date of receipt of the report, Cluttons Portugal will inform the Whistleblower of the measures planned or taken in response to the report and the reasoning behind them.

At any time, the Whistleblower may request that Cluttons Portugal communicate the outcome of the analysis carried out on the report, within 15 days of its conclusion.

Cluttons Portugal guarantees independence, impartiality, confidentiality, data protection, secrecy, and absence of conflicts of interest in carrying out its functions. Fully respecting and safeguarding against potential reputational damage, we take all reports of irregularities seriously and are committed to enforcing our adopted codes of ethics and conduct.

Whistleblower responsibilities

Reporting or publicly disclosing an offence, in accordance with the requirements set out in Law No. 93/2021, does not, in itself:

Constitute grounds for disciplinary, civil, administrative, or criminal liability;

Constitute a breach of any restrictions on the communication or disclosure of information contained in the report or public disclosure, without prejudice to secrecy regimes safeguarded under Article 3(3) of the Law;

Create liability for obtaining or accessing the information that led to the report or public disclosure, except where such obtaining or access constitutes a criminal offence.

The above does not preclude possible liability for acts or omissions unrelated to the report or public disclosure, or that are not necessary for reporting or publicly disclosing an offence under this Law.

Persons assisting the Whistleblower in reporting or publicly disclosing an offence are jointly liable with the Whistleblower for any damage caused in violation of the requirements of this Law.

Conditions for Whistleblower protection

The Whistleblower benefits from the protection granted by this Law under the following conditions:

Acting in good faith and having reasonable grounds to believe that the information or offences reported or disclosed publicly, at the time of reporting or public disclosure, are true — the Whistleblower benefits from the protection of this Law, even if reporting anonymously and later identified.

Submitting an external report, without fault, in ignorance of the existence of an internal reporting channel, or of an offence constituting a crime or an administrative offence punishable with a fine of less than €50,000.

Such protection may be extended, with due adaptations, to persons who confidentially assist the Whistleblower in the reporting process, such as:

Union or employee representatives;

Colleagues or family members;

Entities or legal persons owned or controlled by the Whistleblower, working or otherwise connected in a professional context.

A Whistleblower who reports an offence to the competent institutions, bodies, or agencies of the European Union benefits from the protection established under this Law in the same way as a Whistleblower who makes an external report.

It should be noted that in any report or public disclosure, the protection regime does not prejudice any rights or procedural guarantees recognised, under general terms, to persons named as perpetrators of the offence or associated with it — including the presumption of innocence and the rights of defence in criminal proceedings — ensuring the confidentiality of their identities.

The rights and guarantees provided for in this Law may not be waived or limited by agreement, and any contractual provisions limiting or preventing the submission or follow-up of reports or the public disclosure of offences under this Law are null and void.

For further details on Law No. 93/2021 of 20 December, you may consult the full text available on the Diário da República website (last accessed on 06/08/2024 at 11:52), available at: https://diariodarepublica.pt/dr/detalhe/lei/93-2021-176147929