Whistleblowing

The whistleblowing system enables its employees and other (contractually) affiliated partners to report a reasonable suspicion of misconduct anonymously and with protection from any negative consequences. The aim is also to ensure that potential misconduct that is likely to damage OeKB's reputation and business is reported at an early stage and appropriately investigated, and that necessary measures to remedy such misconduct can be taken by OeKB in a timely manner.

We therefore encourage our employees in particular to make a confidential and - if desired - anonymous report in the event of internal breaches of rules or unlawful acts.

How to report to the internal reporting channel in charge of handling whistleblowing reports

Using the externally hosted whistleblowing system OeKB KI-Gruppe Integrity Line, you can report (potential) misconduct around the clock while maintaining your identity or ask questions about potential misconduct. 

Each report is handled by our internal reporting channel, the Law Office Dr. Anton Ehm, Dr.ⁱⁿ Simone Metz LL.M. & Mag. Thomas Mödlagl Rechtsanwälte (GbR). Your contact person is the attorney at law Dr. Anton Ehm who is also available for a personal meeting if desired. 

If, contrary to expectations, this platform is not available due to technical reasons, you can also contact the internal reporting channel at telephone number +43 1 512 81 52 or by mail to Schönbrunner Straße 42/6, 1050 Wien as well as via e-mail to anton.ehm@ra-emm.at.

What you should report

We want to make it as easy as possible for you. You can therefore report any reasonable suspicion of a breach of the law or breach of our Code of Conduct, such as financial crime (fraud, bribery, corruption, embezzlement, breach of trust, extortion), violations of banking or capital market law, money laundering and terrorist financing, violations of data protection standards, breaches of confidentiality obligations, etc., regardless of whether this misconduct has already been carried out, is imminent or has been attempted. 

Important: The whistleblowing system must not be used for false accusations. Reporting knowingly false information is prohibited and may result in legal consequences.

Who should report

Our whistleblowing system is available to all persons who are professionally associated with OeKB and have obtained information about misconduct in this context. This includes active as well as former employees, members of the Supervisory Board, suppliers, contractors or other contractually related third parties.

Note: Please do not use this channel for standard customer complaints. This is what our Complaints Management (Central Complaints Office feedback@oekb.at) is for. Customer complaints received via OeKB KI-Gruppe Integrity Line cannot be forwarded to the Central Complaints Office for technical reasons.

When you should report through an external reporting channel instead of the internal reporting channel 

You should report information through external reporting channels if it is not possible, appropriate or reasonable for you to report misconduct through an internal reporting channel or if it has already proved unsuccessful or futile.

The following external reporting channels are in any case relevant with regard to OeKB:

• the Financial Market Authority (FMA) pursuant to the Austrian Banking Act (Bankwesengesetz), Financial Markets Anti-Money Laundering Act (Finanzmarkt-Geldwäschegesetz), Stock Exchange Act (Börsegesetz 2018) and Securities Supervision Act 2018 (Wertpapieraufsichtsgesetz 2018),
• the Money Laundering Reporting Office pursuant to the Federal Criminal Police Office Act (Bundeskriminalamt-Gesetz), 
• the whistleblowing system set up at the Federal Competition Authority pursuant to the Competition Act (Wettbewerbsgesetz).