🗞️ FCA under fire over whistleblower treatments and regulatory trust 👇
fincrimecentral.com/fca-whistleblo…
fincrimecentral.com/fca-whistleblo…
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Transparency Task Force retweeted
🔹Today, I will be attending a summit held in memory of Simon Andriesz, whose courage in raising serious concerns about financial misconduct deserves recognition, respect & lasting accountability.
🔹I am honoured to be included in the accompanying report, drawing on my own expeer during Ireland’s parliamentary Inquiry into the Banking Crisis. Please review attachment for further details.
🔹Simon’s tragic death reinforces the urgent need for genuinely independent scrutiny of how financial regulators and other powerful institutions (including @OireachtasNews) treat those who expose wrongdoing.
🔹Whistleblowers are not the problem. The misconduct they expose, the victims left in its wake and the institutional failures that permit the wrongdoing to continue must remain the focus.
🔹I look forward to joining fellow whistleblowers, victims, campaigners and advocates in honouring Simon’s memory and strengthening our collective determination to secure truth, justice & accountability.
🔹I respectfully ask you to share this post to spread awareness. It is relevant to anyone who has borrowed, or intends to borrow, from a financial institution.
@Wftproof @WinkSabee @stevemiddi1 @BlowersIreland @JMcGuinnessTD @kenoflynnTD @Farrell_Mairead @MaryLouMcDonald @SamanthaLaDuc @johnmcdonnellMP @premnsikka @LSRAIreland @LawSocIreland @Muinchille @NiamhParker4 @SimonHarrisTD @MichealMartinTD @andyverity @jameshurley
🔹I am honoured to be included in the accompanying report, drawing on my own expeer during Ireland’s parliamentary Inquiry into the Banking Crisis. Please review attachment for further details.
🔹Simon’s tragic death reinforces the urgent need for genuinely independent scrutiny of how financial regulators and other powerful institutions (including @OireachtasNews) treat those who expose wrongdoing.
🔹Whistleblowers are not the problem. The misconduct they expose, the victims left in its wake and the institutional failures that permit the wrongdoing to continue must remain the focus.
🔹I look forward to joining fellow whistleblowers, victims, campaigners and advocates in honouring Simon’s memory and strengthening our collective determination to secure truth, justice & accountability.
🔹I respectfully ask you to share this post to spread awareness. It is relevant to anyone who has borrowed, or intends to borrow, from a financial institution.
@Wftproof @WinkSabee @stevemiddi1 @BlowersIreland @JMcGuinnessTD @kenoflynnTD @Farrell_Mairead @MaryLouMcDonald @SamanthaLaDuc @johnmcdonnellMP @premnsikka @LSRAIreland @LawSocIreland @Muinchille @NiamhParker4 @SimonHarrisTD @MichealMartinTD @andyverity @jameshurley
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🗞️ MP presses FCA over whistleblower review after Andriesz death 👇
moneymarketing.co.uk/news/mp-presse…
moneymarketing.co.uk/news/mp-presse…
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Transparency Task Force retweeted
TOMORROW I GO TO UK PARLIAMENT
Tomorrow, 2 November, I will walk into the whistleblower summit of the @appgonifandffs on Investment Fraud and Fairer Financial Services.
I have 60 seconds to speak. The event asks why we must protect the wellbeing of whistleblowers. It is of Simon Andriesz @SAndriesz.
I wrote an eight-minute speech and practised it. Then came the message. So many people wanted to speak that we needed to share the time. My slot is now one minute.
Cutting eight minutes to 60 seconds was hard. But I understand. Every person in that room has a story that deserves to be heard.
For my minute, I chose Simon, who spent 35 years working in financial markets.
My own fight with @rsagroup Insurance, @IntactInsurance UK and the Financial Ombudsman Service @financialombuds gets its turn next time. On 2 November, it is about Simon and the disgraceful way @theFCA treated him.
In August, his friend John Robertson @J_Robertson_UK put us in touch. Simon contacted me and we spoke. I wrote about his case and published it on 12 August. It got some attention.
On 23 September, Simon took his own life.
Two days later, I posted about his death on X. That post received more than 700k views. On 4 October, Congressman @RepThomasMassie quoted it, bringing another 800k views. Newspapers picked up the story. It reached people around the world.
Then came the Financial Conduct Authority’s promise of a review. MPs called for an independent investigation. The first question at the FCA Annual Public Meeting was about Simon.
Simon had spent years trying to get the regulator, the courts and the press to listen. After his death, his story reached a worldwide audience. Then came the responses he had needed while he was alive.
That is a disgrace.
Tomorrow, we will talk about protecting whistleblowers’ wellbeing. That starts with how we respond when someone asks us to listen.
My inbox is full of messages from whistleblowers and people who have suffered wrongdoing. Behind each message is a person waiting for someone to take them seriously. A reply takes 2 minutes. For someone who has spent years being ignored, it can mean a lot.
If a whistleblower writes to you, answer them. Make time for the conversation while they are here to have it.
Tomorrow, I have 60 seconds. I will use them to ask people to remember Simon Andriesz, and to listen to those still asking for help.
If this moves you, share his name.
@stevemiddi1 @appgonifandffs @andyverity @jameshurley @MLorrM @Wftproof @JohnCleese @J_Robertson_UK @nw_nicholas @sharmilaxx @johncock_wayne @TransparencyTF
Tomorrow, 2 November, I will walk into the whistleblower summit of the @appgonifandffs on Investment Fraud and Fairer Financial Services.
I have 60 seconds to speak. The event asks why we must protect the wellbeing of whistleblowers. It is of Simon Andriesz @SAndriesz.
I wrote an eight-minute speech and practised it. Then came the message. So many people wanted to speak that we needed to share the time. My slot is now one minute.
Cutting eight minutes to 60 seconds was hard. But I understand. Every person in that room has a story that deserves to be heard.
For my minute, I chose Simon, who spent 35 years working in financial markets.
My own fight with @rsagroup Insurance, @IntactInsurance UK and the Financial Ombudsman Service @financialombuds gets its turn next time. On 2 November, it is about Simon and the disgraceful way @theFCA treated him.
In August, his friend John Robertson @J_Robertson_UK put us in touch. Simon contacted me and we spoke. I wrote about his case and published it on 12 August. It got some attention.
On 23 September, Simon took his own life.
Two days later, I posted about his death on X. That post received more than 700k views. On 4 October, Congressman @RepThomasMassie quoted it, bringing another 800k views. Newspapers picked up the story. It reached people around the world.
Then came the Financial Conduct Authority’s promise of a review. MPs called for an independent investigation. The first question at the FCA Annual Public Meeting was about Simon.
Simon had spent years trying to get the regulator, the courts and the press to listen. After his death, his story reached a worldwide audience. Then came the responses he had needed while he was alive.
That is a disgrace.
Tomorrow, we will talk about protecting whistleblowers’ wellbeing. That starts with how we respond when someone asks us to listen.
My inbox is full of messages from whistleblowers and people who have suffered wrongdoing. Behind each message is a person waiting for someone to take them seriously. A reply takes 2 minutes. For someone who has spent years being ignored, it can mean a lot.
If a whistleblower writes to you, answer them. Make time for the conversation while they are here to have it.
Tomorrow, I have 60 seconds. I will use them to ask people to remember Simon Andriesz, and to listen to those still asking for help.
If this moves you, share his name.
@stevemiddi1 @appgonifandffs @andyverity @jameshurley @MLorrM @Wftproof @JohnCleese @J_Robertson_UK @nw_nicholas @sharmilaxx @johncock_wayne @TransparencyTF
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📢 FINAL REMINDER! Whistleblower Summit | UK Parliament | Monday 2nd November, 2pm–5pm
The APPG on Investment Fraud and Fairer Financial Services invites you register your interest for a complimentary place at a special event in Parliament on the vital role whistleblowers play in society, and the need to protect them from retaliation.
The summit is dedicated to the memory of whistleblower Simon Andriesz, who took his own life after reporting retaliation by his former employer. His case featured on BBC File on 4 Investigates.
Simon had pleaded with the FCA for help, explaining that he and his family “were in crisis.”
His death has led whistleblowers around the world to unite in condemning the regulator. As far as we know, this is the first time whistleblowers worldwide have spoken out together on behalf of a fellow whistleblower.
Baroness Kramer has also spoken about Simon’s death in the Lords, and the case has received widespread media coverage.
🤝 Show your support for whistleblowers by attending.
👉 Register your interest for a free place: lnkd.in/esfJ9FyN
🎧 BBC File on 4: lnkd.in/e4Nk_K3A
📰 Press coverage: lnkd.in/eqjprZHb
#Whistleblowers #WhistleblowerProtection #UKParliament #FCA #APPGIFFFS #SimonAndriesz
The APPG on Investment Fraud and Fairer Financial Services invites you register your interest for a complimentary place at a special event in Parliament on the vital role whistleblowers play in society, and the need to protect them from retaliation.
The summit is dedicated to the memory of whistleblower Simon Andriesz, who took his own life after reporting retaliation by his former employer. His case featured on BBC File on 4 Investigates.
Simon had pleaded with the FCA for help, explaining that he and his family “were in crisis.”
His death has led whistleblowers around the world to unite in condemning the regulator. As far as we know, this is the first time whistleblowers worldwide have spoken out together on behalf of a fellow whistleblower.
Baroness Kramer has also spoken about Simon’s death in the Lords, and the case has received widespread media coverage.
🤝 Show your support for whistleblowers by attending.
👉 Register your interest for a free place: lnkd.in/esfJ9FyN
🎧 BBC File on 4: lnkd.in/e4Nk_K3A
📰 Press coverage: lnkd.in/eqjprZHb
#Whistleblowers #WhistleblowerProtection #UKParliament #FCA #APPGIFFFS #SimonAndriesz
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MP presses FCA over whistleblower review after Andriesz death:
moneymarketing.co.uk/news/mp-presse…
@johnmcdonnellMP
moneymarketing.co.uk/news/mp-presse…
@johnmcdonnellMP
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I’m pleased to share with you some important correspondence sent to @TheFCA CEO Nikhil Rathi by @johnmcdonnellMP in his capacity as Chair of the @appgonifandffs.
The correspondence was in the form of an open letter, hence our being able to share it with you.
The letter is necessarily detailed and long, but a fair summary would be as follows:
The letter challenges the FCA’s handling of whistleblowers and calls for greater independence, transparency and accountability following the death by suicide of whistleblower Simon Andriesz.
There are three important topics covered:
1. Independence and scope of the Paterson Review
John McDonnell MP questions the appointment of FCA Non-Executive Director Lea Paterson to review the FCA’s handling of Simon Andriesz’s case. He argues that Nikhil Rathi’s evidence to the Treasury Committee on 13th October was contradictory and failed to unambiguously establish whether the review is confined to the FCA’s communications with Mr. Andriesz or extends to wider whistleblowing practices. He requests clear, published terms of reference, clarification of who controls the review’s scope and reconsideration of appointing an independent external reviewer. He also seeks confirmation that the report will be published in full with only redactions as necessary.
2. FCA participation in the APPG’s summit about protecting whistleblowers from retaliation
John McDonnell MP criticises the FCA’s decision not to provide an executive-level participant at the APPG whistleblowing summit on Monday 2nd November, offering only an observer. He argues that discussing general principles of whistleblower protection would not compromise the Paterson Review and urges the FCA to participate meaningfully and engage directly with whistleblowers. By not doing so the FCA misses a unique opportunity to learn through engagement; not a good look when the FCA is undertaking a lessons-learned review.
3. Independent survey of whistleblowers
The letter strongly challenges the credibility of the FCA’s 2022 whistleblower survey, which received only 21 complete responses from 68 selected individuals, out of 1,041 reports received during the relevant period. FOI disclosures show the exercise was conducted in a purposive and seemingly contrived manner. For example, only cases selected by the FCA’s whistleblowing case handlers were included. John McDonnell MP calls for an independently administered survey of every individual who has contacted the FCA about whistleblowing since January 2022, with the methodology, questionnaire and results published.
The letter calls for substantive answers to important questions covering whistleblower protection, regulatory responsibilities and historical FCA practices. It requests an urgent response on summit attendance and a comprehensive reply to the other issues raised within 14 days, emphasising that credible scrutiny, demonstrable accountability and a culture of openness are essential to restoring confidence in the FCA.
The full open letter is available for you here:
appgifffs.org/wp-content/upl…
We believe this is a legitimate and necessary challenge of @TheFCA's handling of whistleblowers, particularly following the death by suicide of whistleblower @SAndriesz.
And note that there have been serious concerns in Parliament and in particular by @CommonsTreasury about how @TheFCA deals with whistleblowers going back to at least 2016 - see here, by Lord Tyrie when he was Chair of @CommonsTreasury.
Also if you would like to express interest in taking one of the few remaining complimentary places available at the APPG summit in Parliament on Monday 2nd November, which is all about protecting whistleblowers from retaliation and dedicated to the memory of @SAndriesz, please see here:
docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAI…
Thank you for taking time to read what we believe to be an important message; we hope you agree.
Please share your thoughts and repost as you wish - we need to get this message 'out there.'
The correspondence was in the form of an open letter, hence our being able to share it with you.
The letter is necessarily detailed and long, but a fair summary would be as follows:
The letter challenges the FCA’s handling of whistleblowers and calls for greater independence, transparency and accountability following the death by suicide of whistleblower Simon Andriesz.
There are three important topics covered:
1. Independence and scope of the Paterson Review
John McDonnell MP questions the appointment of FCA Non-Executive Director Lea Paterson to review the FCA’s handling of Simon Andriesz’s case. He argues that Nikhil Rathi’s evidence to the Treasury Committee on 13th October was contradictory and failed to unambiguously establish whether the review is confined to the FCA’s communications with Mr. Andriesz or extends to wider whistleblowing practices. He requests clear, published terms of reference, clarification of who controls the review’s scope and reconsideration of appointing an independent external reviewer. He also seeks confirmation that the report will be published in full with only redactions as necessary.
2. FCA participation in the APPG’s summit about protecting whistleblowers from retaliation
John McDonnell MP criticises the FCA’s decision not to provide an executive-level participant at the APPG whistleblowing summit on Monday 2nd November, offering only an observer. He argues that discussing general principles of whistleblower protection would not compromise the Paterson Review and urges the FCA to participate meaningfully and engage directly with whistleblowers. By not doing so the FCA misses a unique opportunity to learn through engagement; not a good look when the FCA is undertaking a lessons-learned review.
3. Independent survey of whistleblowers
The letter strongly challenges the credibility of the FCA’s 2022 whistleblower survey, which received only 21 complete responses from 68 selected individuals, out of 1,041 reports received during the relevant period. FOI disclosures show the exercise was conducted in a purposive and seemingly contrived manner. For example, only cases selected by the FCA’s whistleblowing case handlers were included. John McDonnell MP calls for an independently administered survey of every individual who has contacted the FCA about whistleblowing since January 2022, with the methodology, questionnaire and results published.
The letter calls for substantive answers to important questions covering whistleblower protection, regulatory responsibilities and historical FCA practices. It requests an urgent response on summit attendance and a comprehensive reply to the other issues raised within 14 days, emphasising that credible scrutiny, demonstrable accountability and a culture of openness are essential to restoring confidence in the FCA.
The full open letter is available for you here:
appgifffs.org/wp-content/upl…
We believe this is a legitimate and necessary challenge of @TheFCA's handling of whistleblowers, particularly following the death by suicide of whistleblower @SAndriesz.
And note that there have been serious concerns in Parliament and in particular by @CommonsTreasury about how @TheFCA deals with whistleblowers going back to at least 2016 - see here, by Lord Tyrie when he was Chair of @CommonsTreasury.
Also if you would like to express interest in taking one of the few remaining complimentary places available at the APPG summit in Parliament on Monday 2nd November, which is all about protecting whistleblowers from retaliation and dedicated to the memory of @SAndriesz, please see here:
docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAI…
Thank you for taking time to read what we believe to be an important message; we hope you agree.
Please share your thoughts and repost as you wish - we need to get this message 'out there.'
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⏰ Reminder: The APPG on Investment Fraud and Fairer Financial Services whistleblower summit takes place in UK Parliament this Monday 2nd November, 2pm-5pm.
Whistleblowers keep our financial system honest, and they deserve protection, not retaliation. Please show your support by attending.
Register your interest for a free place:
forms.gle/BuSTVnk1WvEapw…
#Whistleblowers #UKParliament
Whistleblowers keep our financial system honest, and they deserve protection, not retaliation. Please show your support by attending.
Register your interest for a free place:
forms.gle/BuSTVnk1WvEapw…
#Whistleblowers #UKParliament
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📢 Join us in UK Parliament on Monday 2nd November, 2pm-5pm, for a summit on the vital role whistleblowers play in society and why they must be protected from retaliation.
Hosted by the APPG on Investment Fraud and Fairer Financial Services. Places are complimentary.
👉 Register your interest for a place here:
forms.gle/V2rBhx2CzACY9y…
#Whistleblowers #UKParliament #WhistleblowerProtection
Hosted by the APPG on Investment Fraud and Fairer Financial Services. Places are complimentary.
👉 Register your interest for a place here:
forms.gle/V2rBhx2CzACY9y…
#Whistleblowers #UKParliament #WhistleblowerProtection
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📢 Whistleblower Summit | UK Parliament | Monday 2nd November, 2pm–5pm
The APPG on Investment Fraud and Fairer Financial Services invites you to register your interest for a complimentary place at a special event in Parliament on the vital role whistleblowers play in society, and the need to protect them from retaliation.
The summit is dedicated to the memory of whistleblower Simon Andriesz, who took his own life after reporting retaliation by his former employer. His case featured on BBC File on 4 Investigates.
Simon had pleaded with the FCA for help, explaining that he and his family “were in crisis.”
His death has led whistleblowers around the world to unite in condemning the regulator. As far as we know, this is the first time whistleblowers worldwide have spoken out together on behalf of a fellow whistleblower.
Baroness Kramer has also spoken about Simon’s death in the Lords, and the case has received widespread media coverage.
🤝 Show your support for whistleblowers by attending.
👉 Register your interest for a free place: forms.gle/Y2wBQkc9TJhBGf…
🎧 BBC File on 4: bbc.co.uk/programmes/m00…
📰 Press coverage: appgifffs.org/in-the-press
#Whistleblowers #WhistleblowerProtection #UKParliament #FCA #APPGIFFFS #SimonAndriesz
@appgonifandffs @WhistleUK @VigjilencaAbazi @CompassnInCare @psst_org @susanpjhawley @TransparencyUK @SafecallGB @stevemiddi1 @Carlier_J87 @johnmcdonnellMP @natalieben @J_Robertson_UK @MLorrM @Wftproof @WarmingtonRjw @ArturNadol7566 @IanByrneMP @SueFlood52
The APPG on Investment Fraud and Fairer Financial Services invites you to register your interest for a complimentary place at a special event in Parliament on the vital role whistleblowers play in society, and the need to protect them from retaliation.
The summit is dedicated to the memory of whistleblower Simon Andriesz, who took his own life after reporting retaliation by his former employer. His case featured on BBC File on 4 Investigates.
Simon had pleaded with the FCA for help, explaining that he and his family “were in crisis.”
His death has led whistleblowers around the world to unite in condemning the regulator. As far as we know, this is the first time whistleblowers worldwide have spoken out together on behalf of a fellow whistleblower.
Baroness Kramer has also spoken about Simon’s death in the Lords, and the case has received widespread media coverage.
🤝 Show your support for whistleblowers by attending.
👉 Register your interest for a free place: forms.gle/Y2wBQkc9TJhBGf…
🎧 BBC File on 4: bbc.co.uk/programmes/m00…
📰 Press coverage: appgifffs.org/in-the-press
#Whistleblowers #WhistleblowerProtection #UKParliament #FCA #APPGIFFFS #SimonAndriesz
@appgonifandffs @WhistleUK @VigjilencaAbazi @CompassnInCare @psst_org @susanpjhawley @TransparencyUK @SafecallGB @stevemiddi1 @Carlier_J87 @johnmcdonnellMP @natalieben @J_Robertson_UK @MLorrM @Wftproof @WarmingtonRjw @ArturNadol7566 @IanByrneMP @SueFlood52
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Transparency Task Force retweeted
BIG 4 WHISTLEBLOWER AND THE 10 BILLION HOLE
Brendan Lyon @lyon_brendan hit send: I am sick of being bullied.
KPMG Australia answered the way every caring employer does, with a conduct investigation into the man who wrote it.
On 22 October I joined the @TransparencyTF Zoom tory of Brendan Lyon, a whistleblower. I attached his slides for anybody interested in this fascinating story.
That email went to Michael Pratt, head of NSW Treasury, on 19 November 2020, with a suggestion to grow up or tell the truth. Brendan Lyon was a KPMG partner checking a new state rail company called TAHE, and he says Treasury's numbers were essentially made up and the real budget hole was around $10 billion. A rounding error, the kind anyone makes with a calculator and a deadline.
Brendan Lyon says Michael Pratt told him to correct the errors or delete every mention of Treasury modelling, which was none of his business. Emails Brendan Lyon gave Parliament also show Michael Pratt telling KPMG's senior partners that they had a partner out of control and that he expected action. Peer review, Treasury style, is an email to the boss.
Transport Secretary Rodd Staples, who backed Brendan Lyon, was dismissed that month. Brendan Lyon alleges bullying, reprisals and pointless disciplinary processes followed, and says Gary Wingrove, then chief executive of KPMG Australia, removed him from the partnership in April or May 2021. Gary Wingrove became KPMG's global chairman and chief executive on 1 October 2026, and nothing says lessons learned like a bigger desk.
A 2022 parliamentary inquiry found it was highly inappropriate for NSW Treasury to instruct Brendan Lyon to amend his report. The Audit Office of NSW also reported that 23 reports, 1,023 pages, arrived around midnight on the morning the state accounts were signed. Light bedtime reading.
Brendan Lyon's slides explain the bigger picture. Australia lets accounting firms alone run as partnerships of up to 1,000 people, with a legal cap on what they pay when they lose a damages case. Since 2007 the cap covers any service sold for profit, including consulting by people who are not accountants, so a shield for accountants now fits anyone with a business card.
Deloitte, PwC, EY and KPMG earned about $9.8 billion in Australia in 2025, and by Brendan Lyon's count about 75% of it sits under that cap. Risk management has never looked so relaxed.
Brendan Lyon built a scenario to show the maths. A firm earns $15 million valuing a super asset that is hard to sell, gets it wrong, and members lose $100 million. The court finds the firm half to blame, the cap trims the award from $50 million to $20 million, insurance pays $19 million and the firm covers a $1 million excess, which is pocket change for a good week.
Members are left $30 million short. Spread over 1,000 partners, that is $15,000 each in fees up front and $1,000 each in damages later.
Brendan Lyon says disciplinary records at Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand @Chartered_Accts, known as CA ANZ, show no enforcement against any Big Four firm or partner from 2013 to 2026. Policing yourself works wonders when nobody is looking.
ASIC @asic_connect chair Sarah Court told Parliament in September that ASIC is reviewing 551 complaints about the Big Four and that its powers reach individual auditors only. On 14 October the Australian Financial Review reported that ASIC found EY and PwC approved a combined $80 billion of unlisted super investments without enough evidence. Reviewing is such a brave word.
Brendan Lyon is challenging the cap in the NSW Supreme Court against CA ANZ and the Professional Standards Council of New South Wales, which approved the scheme. He started a fundraiser for his costs and on 7 August won an order limiting what he can be made to pay CA ANZ to $25,000. CA ANZ says its scheme protects consumers through insurance backed compensation, which is a fine name for a shield.
Trial is set for 22 June 2027, which leaves plenty of time for more complaints.
Brendan Lyon says he lost his partnership for checking the numbers. In his example, getting them wrong costs a partner $1,000.
Link to the slides in the comments.
Sources: @FinancialReview @asic_connect @accgtimes @claudinecassar @Chartered_Accts, others.
---
@stevemiddi1 @MLorrM @Wftproof @johnmcdonnellMP @premnsikka @nw_nicholas @JohnCleese @BankConfidenti1
Brendan Lyon @lyon_brendan hit send: I am sick of being bullied.
KPMG Australia answered the way every caring employer does, with a conduct investigation into the man who wrote it.
On 22 October I joined the @TransparencyTF Zoom tory of Brendan Lyon, a whistleblower. I attached his slides for anybody interested in this fascinating story.
That email went to Michael Pratt, head of NSW Treasury, on 19 November 2020, with a suggestion to grow up or tell the truth. Brendan Lyon was a KPMG partner checking a new state rail company called TAHE, and he says Treasury's numbers were essentially made up and the real budget hole was around $10 billion. A rounding error, the kind anyone makes with a calculator and a deadline.
Brendan Lyon says Michael Pratt told him to correct the errors or delete every mention of Treasury modelling, which was none of his business. Emails Brendan Lyon gave Parliament also show Michael Pratt telling KPMG's senior partners that they had a partner out of control and that he expected action. Peer review, Treasury style, is an email to the boss.
Transport Secretary Rodd Staples, who backed Brendan Lyon, was dismissed that month. Brendan Lyon alleges bullying, reprisals and pointless disciplinary processes followed, and says Gary Wingrove, then chief executive of KPMG Australia, removed him from the partnership in April or May 2021. Gary Wingrove became KPMG's global chairman and chief executive on 1 October 2026, and nothing says lessons learned like a bigger desk.
A 2022 parliamentary inquiry found it was highly inappropriate for NSW Treasury to instruct Brendan Lyon to amend his report. The Audit Office of NSW also reported that 23 reports, 1,023 pages, arrived around midnight on the morning the state accounts were signed. Light bedtime reading.
Brendan Lyon's slides explain the bigger picture. Australia lets accounting firms alone run as partnerships of up to 1,000 people, with a legal cap on what they pay when they lose a damages case. Since 2007 the cap covers any service sold for profit, including consulting by people who are not accountants, so a shield for accountants now fits anyone with a business card.
Deloitte, PwC, EY and KPMG earned about $9.8 billion in Australia in 2025, and by Brendan Lyon's count about 75% of it sits under that cap. Risk management has never looked so relaxed.
Brendan Lyon built a scenario to show the maths. A firm earns $15 million valuing a super asset that is hard to sell, gets it wrong, and members lose $100 million. The court finds the firm half to blame, the cap trims the award from $50 million to $20 million, insurance pays $19 million and the firm covers a $1 million excess, which is pocket change for a good week.
Members are left $30 million short. Spread over 1,000 partners, that is $15,000 each in fees up front and $1,000 each in damages later.
Brendan Lyon says disciplinary records at Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand @Chartered_Accts, known as CA ANZ, show no enforcement against any Big Four firm or partner from 2013 to 2026. Policing yourself works wonders when nobody is looking.
ASIC @asic_connect chair Sarah Court told Parliament in September that ASIC is reviewing 551 complaints about the Big Four and that its powers reach individual auditors only. On 14 October the Australian Financial Review reported that ASIC found EY and PwC approved a combined $80 billion of unlisted super investments without enough evidence. Reviewing is such a brave word.
Brendan Lyon is challenging the cap in the NSW Supreme Court against CA ANZ and the Professional Standards Council of New South Wales, which approved the scheme. He started a fundraiser for his costs and on 7 August won an order limiting what he can be made to pay CA ANZ to $25,000. CA ANZ says its scheme protects consumers through insurance backed compensation, which is a fine name for a shield.
Trial is set for 22 June 2027, which leaves plenty of time for more complaints.
Brendan Lyon says he lost his partnership for checking the numbers. In his example, getting them wrong costs a partner $1,000.
Link to the slides in the comments.
Sources: @FinancialReview @asic_connect @accgtimes @claudinecassar @Chartered_Accts, others.
---
@stevemiddi1 @MLorrM @Wftproof @johnmcdonnellMP @premnsikka @nw_nicholas @JohnCleese @BankConfidenti1
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Transparency Task Force retweeted
Dear @FBI,
I just watched The Wolves of Real Estate: The Alexander Brothers on @peacock. I am in it. You know my part. I was asked to gather intelligence on Evan Torgan, the attorney representing the women who came forward against the Alexander brothers, and to work against his clients. I said no. I protected the women’s lawyer. I protected the women. And I brought what I had to you.
I knew the women were being targeted. I did not know the full extent of it until tonight. What the film describes is very serious witness intimidation and the targeting of victims using PR firms and private investigators. They were intimidated. They were targeted. And on camera, the people who did it said the women bore responsibility for what happened to them. I watched it twice to make sure I heard it right. I did.
That is wrong.
I am asking you to investigate the investigators and the PR firm that did this. Not because I am angry, although I am. Because going after witnesses is not crisis management. It is a second crime committed against people who had already survived the first one.
These women did their part. They spoke. They trusted that if they told the truth, someone would stand in front of them. I did. Now I am asking you to.
Everyone who engaged in witness intimidation and the targeting of these women and their lawyer should be held accountable and should have to answer for their actions. You have the authority to make that happen. Please use it.
I can look myself in the mirror because I turned down the money and stood with the victims. The people who took the money and went after them cannot say the same. They took a paycheck to make women who had already been hurt afraid to speak. That is not a job. That is a choice, and they should have to answer for it.
Everett A. Stern
HSBC Whistleblower
Founder and Intelligence Director, Tactical Rabbit
I just watched The Wolves of Real Estate: The Alexander Brothers on @peacock. I am in it. You know my part. I was asked to gather intelligence on Evan Torgan, the attorney representing the women who came forward against the Alexander brothers, and to work against his clients. I said no. I protected the women’s lawyer. I protected the women. And I brought what I had to you.
I knew the women were being targeted. I did not know the full extent of it until tonight. What the film describes is very serious witness intimidation and the targeting of victims using PR firms and private investigators. They were intimidated. They were targeted. And on camera, the people who did it said the women bore responsibility for what happened to them. I watched it twice to make sure I heard it right. I did.
That is wrong.
I am asking you to investigate the investigators and the PR firm that did this. Not because I am angry, although I am. Because going after witnesses is not crisis management. It is a second crime committed against people who had already survived the first one.
These women did their part. They spoke. They trusted that if they told the truth, someone would stand in front of them. I did. Now I am asking you to.
Everyone who engaged in witness intimidation and the targeting of these women and their lawyer should be held accountable and should have to answer for their actions. You have the authority to make that happen. Please use it.
I can look myself in the mirror because I turned down the money and stood with the victims. The people who took the money and went after them cannot say the same. They took a paycheck to make women who had already been hurt afraid to speak. That is not a job. That is a choice, and they should have to answer for it.
Everett A. Stern
HSBC Whistleblower
Founder and Intelligence Director, Tactical Rabbit
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Can’t wait to watch it @EverettStern1, and I recommend that everybody else does too. I have only had the privilege of one brief conversation with you and even from that brief exchange it is very obvious to me that you are a truly exceptional person. Congratulations for all the many highly impressive things you are managing to do, through being true to yourself and your values despite the massive temptations to do otherwise.
Today I am featured in a Peacock documentary.
The Wolves of Real Estate: The Alexander Brothers premieres this morning, and I am in it. This is the proudest day of my life. Today is the day I won the fight.
Fourteen years ago I walked out of @HSBC with nothing because I blew he largest banks in the world. I slept on a cot. I waited tables. Nobody wanted to hear from me and nobody wanted to hire me. I was told, in a hundred different ways, that doing the right thing had ended my life.
It did not. It started a different one.
I rebuilt from zero and promised myself that whatever I built next would never become the thing I had fought against. Years later that promise was tested. There is a moment in the film where I had to choose between millions of dollars and doing what was right. I chose right. We protected the lawyer. We protected the women. We assisted the @FBI. I am not going to tell the story here. Watch it.
@netflix told the HSBC story. @HBO told it. Today Peacock is telling what came after, and it is a great honor to be part of it. Thank you to director Emma Schwartz @emmanator, Maxine Productions, and @NBCUniversal for telling this story with the care it deserved, and for giving the victims a voice.
I lost everything once. I fought back with a vengeance. And Tactical Rabbit @Tactical_Rabbit will always do what is right, always protect the innocent, and always stand for justice. No matter who is paying.
The Wolves of Real Estate: The Alexander Brothers. Streaming now on @peacock. #TheWolvesOfRealEstate
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Transparency Task Force retweeted
Revealed: Helen Bower-Easton, a former official spokesperson to two prime ministers, is quitting her role as communications director of the Financial Conduct Authority as the City regulator battles to salvage its £9bn motor finance compensation scheme. news.sky.com/story/mark-kle…
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IMPORTANT!
The link below takes you to a Press Statement by the APPG on Investment Fraud and Fairer Financial Services entitled:
“WHISTLEBLOWERS AROUND THE WORLD UNITE IN THEIR CONDEMNATION OF THE UK’S FINANCIAL CONDUCT AUTHORITY”
As you’ll see, it has an accompanying anthology.
As far as we know this is the first time whistleblowers around the world have spoken out together on behalf of a fellow whistleblower who has fallen.
They are speaking out against @TheFCA's decision to not move forward with a proper independent 3rd party investigation into their handling of the whistleblowing of Simon Andriesz R.I.P., and a wider systemic review of how they have dealt with other whistleblowers.
Instead, @TheFCA just wants to do a narrow, ‘mark their own homework’ exercise, which has caused outrage in some quarters.
You can access the press statement and accompanying anthology through this link:
appgifffs.org/wp-content/upl…
Please do all you can share this important message.
And huge thanks to everybody involved in the press statement and anthology:
✅ John McDonnell MP: @johnmcdonnellMP
United Kingdom
✅ John Robertson: @J_Robertson_UK
United Kingdom
✅ Pav Gill Singapore
✅ Hester Bais: @Wftproof
Netherlands
✅ Brendan Lyon: @lyon_brendan
Australia
✅ George Patellis
United States
✅ Everett Stern: @EverettStern1
United States
✅ Tom Hayes: @robilypj
United Kingdom
✅ Wayne Johncock: @johncock_wayne
United Kingdom
✅ James E. Miller
United States
✅ Reggie de Jong
The Netherlands
✅ John Christmas
Country not specified
✅ Ahmed Latif
United Kingdom
✅ Paul Carlier: @Carlier_J87
United Kingdom
✅ Mark Wright: @BankConfidenti1
United Kingdom
✅ Steve Middleton: @stevemiddi1
United Kingdom
✅ Ian Tyler
United Kingdom
✅ Lorraine Morris: @MLorrM
Ireland
✅ Jeremy Roseberry: @jeremyroseberry
United States
✅ Jacques Richard
Country not specified
✅ Jesse Griffiths: @JesseLGriffiths
United Kingdom
✅ Professor Richard Moorhead OBE
United Kingdom and Australia
✅ Jimmy Kande Senegal
✅ Ken Kivenko Canada
✅ Jean-Jacques Lumumba: @LUMUMBAJj
Democratic Republic of the Congo
✅ Ian Foxley: @ianfoxley
United Kingdom
✅ Dr. Agris Auce
Latvia
✅Wayne Johncock: @johncock_wayne
United Kingdom
✅James E. Miller
United States
✅Reggie de Jong
The Netherlands
✅John Christmas Country not specified
We are all very grateful to everybody who has been working together to help @SAndriesz speak up, now that he can no longer do so himself.
Thank you!
The link below takes you to a Press Statement by the APPG on Investment Fraud and Fairer Financial Services entitled:
“WHISTLEBLOWERS AROUND THE WORLD UNITE IN THEIR CONDEMNATION OF THE UK’S FINANCIAL CONDUCT AUTHORITY”
As you’ll see, it has an accompanying anthology.
As far as we know this is the first time whistleblowers around the world have spoken out together on behalf of a fellow whistleblower who has fallen.
They are speaking out against @TheFCA's decision to not move forward with a proper independent 3rd party investigation into their handling of the whistleblowing of Simon Andriesz R.I.P., and a wider systemic review of how they have dealt with other whistleblowers.
Instead, @TheFCA just wants to do a narrow, ‘mark their own homework’ exercise, which has caused outrage in some quarters.
You can access the press statement and accompanying anthology through this link:
appgifffs.org/wp-content/upl…
Please do all you can share this important message.
And huge thanks to everybody involved in the press statement and anthology:
✅ John McDonnell MP: @johnmcdonnellMP
United Kingdom
✅ John Robertson: @J_Robertson_UK
United Kingdom
✅ Pav Gill Singapore
✅ Hester Bais: @Wftproof
Netherlands
✅ Brendan Lyon: @lyon_brendan
Australia
✅ George Patellis
United States
✅ Everett Stern: @EverettStern1
United States
✅ Tom Hayes: @robilypj
United Kingdom
✅ Wayne Johncock: @johncock_wayne
United Kingdom
✅ James E. Miller
United States
✅ Reggie de Jong
The Netherlands
✅ John Christmas
Country not specified
✅ Ahmed Latif
United Kingdom
✅ Paul Carlier: @Carlier_J87
United Kingdom
✅ Mark Wright: @BankConfidenti1
United Kingdom
✅ Steve Middleton: @stevemiddi1
United Kingdom
✅ Ian Tyler
United Kingdom
✅ Lorraine Morris: @MLorrM
Ireland
✅ Jeremy Roseberry: @jeremyroseberry
United States
✅ Jacques Richard
Country not specified
✅ Jesse Griffiths: @JesseLGriffiths
United Kingdom
✅ Professor Richard Moorhead OBE
United Kingdom and Australia
✅ Jimmy Kande Senegal
✅ Ken Kivenko Canada
✅ Jean-Jacques Lumumba: @LUMUMBAJj
Democratic Republic of the Congo
✅ Ian Foxley: @ianfoxley
United Kingdom
✅ Dr. Agris Auce
Latvia
✅Wayne Johncock: @johncock_wayne
United Kingdom
✅James E. Miller
United States
✅Reggie de Jong
The Netherlands
✅John Christmas Country not specified
We are all very grateful to everybody who has been working together to help @SAndriesz speak up, now that he can no longer do so himself.
Thank you!
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