Internal Reporting Channel

Cluttons Comercial, in compliance with Directive (EU) 2015/849 of the European Parliament and of the Council of May 20, 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 framework for the protection of whistleblowers, transposing Directive (EU) 2019/1937 of the European Parliament and of the Council of October 23, 2019, on the protection of persons reporting breaches of Union law, describes its internal reporting channel below.

What is it?

Cluttons Comercial's internal reporting channel allows whistleblowers to submit and follow up on a report securely, completely, confidentially, and anonymously.

Who can report?

A whistleblower is an individual who has obtained information within the scope of their professional activity during their professional relationship with Cluttons Comercial, regardless of the nature of that activity or the sector in which it is performed.

Professional relationships may include:

Contracted employees;
Service providers, contractors, subcontractors, and suppliers, as well as any individuals acting under their supervision and direction;
Shareholders of equity interests and individuals belonging to administrative or management bodies or to tax or oversight bodies of legal entities, including non-executive members;
Volunteers and interns, paid or unpaid;
Recruitment processes;
During another pre-contractual negotiation phase of a formal or informal professional relationship.

How can I file a complaint?

If you wish to file a complaint with Cluttons Comercial, you can do so in writing, anonymously or with identification, to the following email address: comercial.lisboa@cluttons.com, with the subject line "Confidential."

What happens after filing a complaint?

Cluttons Comercial will notify the Reporter within seven days of receipt of the complaint and will inform them, in a clear and accessible manner, of the requirements, competent authorities, and the form and admissibility of external reporting, pursuant to Article 7, §2, and Articles 12 and 14 of Law No. 93/2021.

Cluttons Comercial will then carry out appropriate internal procedures to verify the allegations presented. If necessary, Cluttons Comercial will proceed to put an end to the reported violation, including by opening an internal investigation or reporting it to the competent authority responsible for investigating the violation, including institutions, bodies, or agencies of the European Union.

Within a maximum period of three months from the date of receipt of the complaint, Cluttons Comercial will inform the reporting party of the measures planned or adopted to follow up on the complaint and the respective grounds.

If desired, the reporting party may request, at any time, that Cluttons Comercial communicate the results of the analysis carried out on the complaint within 15 days of its conclusion.

Cluttons Comercial guarantees independence, impartiality, confidentiality, data protection, confidentiality, and the absence of conflicts of interest in the performance of its duties.

What are the reporting party's responsibilities?

Reporting or publicly disclosing an offense, in accordance with the requirements of Law No. 93/2021, does not, in itself, constitute:

Grounds for disciplinary, civil, administrative, or criminal liability;
Violation of any restrictions on the communication or disclosure of information contained in the report or public disclosure, without prejudice to the confidentiality regimes protected by the provisions of Article 3, § 3, of said Law;
Liability for obtaining or accessing the information that motivates the report or public disclosure, except in cases where obtaining or accessing the information constitutes a crime.

The above provision does not affect the potential liability of whistleblowers for acts or omissions unrelated to the report or public disclosure, or that are not necessary for the report or public disclosure of an offense under this Law.

Persons who assist the Whistleblower in reporting or public disclosure are jointly and severally liable with the Whistleblower for damages caused by violation of the requirements imposed by this Law.

What are the conditions for whistleblower protection?

Whistleblowers benefit from the protection afforded by this Law under the following conditions:

Acts in good faith and has serious grounds to believe that the information or violations reported or publicly disclosed under the established terms, at the time of the report or public disclosure, are true, and benefits from the protection afforded by this Law, even if anonymous and subsequently identified.
Files an external report without fault, ignoring the existence of an internal reporting channel or an infraction that constitutes a crime or misdemeanor punishable by a fine of less than 50,000 euros.
This protection may be extended, with appropriate adaptations, to individuals who confidentially assist the whistleblower in the reporting process, including:
Union representatives or employee representatives;
Coworkers or family members;
Entities or legal entities, owned or controlled by the Whistleblower, who work or are otherwise connected in a professional context.

A Whistleblower who files a report of a violation with the competent institutions, bodies, or agencies of the European Union benefits from the protection established in this Law under the same conditions as a Whistleblower who files an external report.

It should also be noted that, in the case of a report or public disclosure, the Whistleblower protection regime does not prejudice any rights or procedural guarantees generally granted to persons identified as perpetrators of the violation or associated with it, namely the presumption of innocence and the guarantees of defense in criminal proceedings, ensuring the confidentiality of their identities.

The rights and guarantees provided for in this Law cannot be waived or limited by agreement, and any contractual provisions that limit or prevent the filing or follow-up of reports or the public disclosure of violations under this Law are null and void.

For more details on Law No. 93/2021, of December 20, you can consult the full document available on the Diário da República website, last consulted on 08/06/2024 at 11:52 am, available at: https://diariodarepublica.pt/dr/detalhe/lei/93-2021-176147929