Financial rewards for whistleblowers: Friends or foes?

by Dimitrios Kafteranis and Stelios Andreadakis

Whistleblowing is a practice with deep historical roots, traceable to classical antiquity. In ancient Athens, citizens could challenge proposed laws and receive rewards if their objections were upheld. Similarly, in the Roman Empire, individuals known as "delatores" were financially compensated for reporting illegal activities. Yet, from the earliest times, the motivation behind whistleblowing - particularly when intertwined with personal gain - elicited ambivalence, often casting whistleblowers as suspects.