Please provide us with the following details:

• Which company or business unit under our supervision is affected
• What specifically happened 
• When it occurred 
• Where it took place 
• Who was involved

We kindly ask you to describe the facts as thoroughly as possible.  

Reports may concern violations subject to criminal or administrative penalties, such as corruption, antitrust violations, assault, and sexual offenses. However, breaches of other legal requirements or internal compliance guidelines—such as the Code of Conduct or signature authorization policies—are also relevant.

We would also appreciate it if you could indicate whether you observed the incident, were directly involved, or learned about it through third parties. Furthermore, please let us know which other individuals, whether directly involved, are aware of the matter. If any documentation exists (e.g., emails, photographs), you may also upload these files via this web portal.

Please note the following:

• Before submitting your disclosure, we kindly ask that you carefully ensure the factual accuracy of the information provided.
• Please refrain from making any statements you know to be false.
• For your protection, we recommend verifying the key facts you are reporting and securely documenting your findings.
• If you subsequently discover that any previously submitted information is inaccurate or outdated, we respectfully request that you amend it accordingly.
• In cases of uncertainty, we kindly ask that you use formulations such as 'To the best of my knowledge,' 'I believe,' or 'It appears possible that...'

If you are unsure how to present, assess, or proceed with a report, you may contact our law firm—free of charge and anonymously if you prefer—to discuss the matter in advance.

Receipt and Processing

• We will diligently and confidentially handle all reports, Attorney Dr. Nadja Müller and/or Attorney Dr. Johannes Dilling.
• We will acknowledge receipt of the report personally, typically within 48 hours.
• If necessary, we will contact you to clarify any follow-up questions.

Forwarding to the Company

• Once we have assessed the plausibility of the report, we will forward it confidentially to the company.
• We ensure that the report is not forwarded to any individuals who are themselves the subject of the report.
• The company will then decide how to proceed with the report (e.g., initiation of an internal investigation, referral to external authorities).
• Companies are legally obliged to investigate potential reports of misconduct and to prevent any identified wrongdoing. Therefore, every report is taken seriously and may lead to follow-up measures.
• Please note that the submission of a report and any resulting proceedings may be burdensome for all parties involved. We therefore kindly ask you, as the reporting person, to carefully consider in advance whether the information you provide is, to the best of your knowledge and belief, accurate.

Conclusion
    • You will receive feedback from us within three months. 

• Submitting a report does not establish an attorney-client relationship between you as the reporting person and our law firm.
• An attorney-client relationship exists solely between our law firm and the company that has appointed us as compliance ombudspersons or trusted attorneys.
• Nevertheless, we at Dilling Rechtsanwälte agree with each of these companies that they irrevocably waive the right to be informed of the identity of the reporting person if the reporting person does not wish to be identified.
• We work independently and impartially, without being subject to instructions from any of the companies that have engaged us.

The reporting channels we provide are free of charge (except for Threema). As the reporting person, you will not incur any costs, either for submitting your report or at any later stage of the procedure.

• We are legally obligated to safeguard the confidentiality of the identity of the reporting person. We also protect the identity of individuals who are the subject of a report and any other persons mentioned in the report.
• You are not required to disclose any personal data when submitting a report and may do so anonymously. Should you choose to disclose your identity to us, you may request that it not be shared with the company concerned. We will fully respect this request.
• The confidentiality of your identity is ensured regardless of the reporting channel you use.

Please note that the protection of your identity's confidentiality is not absolute, and we have no influence over certain exceptions.

• The Whistleblower Protection Act (§ 9 Abs. 2 HinSchG) allows for exceptions to confidentiality. For example, the identity of a reporting person may be disclosed to law enforcement authorities if they request it. We explicitly refer to § 9 Abs. 2 HinSchG for further details.
• Only individuals acting "bona fide" in other words in good faith, who do not intentionally or grossly negligently provide false information, are protected by confidentiality. A reporting person who intentionally or grossly negligently provides false information may have their identity revealed through a request for information under Article 15(1) GDPR. The affected person may also seek damages.
• Neither our law firm nor the companies that mandate us have protection against seizure. This means that in the event of an official investigation, authorities may seize documents that reveal the identity of the reporting person.
• Reporting persons who are concerned about their identity being revealed are advised to submit their report anonymously. Even when submitting a report anonymously, it is important to ensure that no personally identifiable information is included in the report or any attached documents.

If you wish to submit your report anonymously, please consider the following guidelines:

• Ensure that your identity cannot be inferred from the documents you send. Remove all personal data that could identify you, such as names, addresses, email addresses, and author information in Word documents.
• Describe only the behavior or statements of a person without referencing hierarchies, departments, professional experience, or personal relationships.
• Do not use phrases, emojis, words, or expressions that you regularly use and that could enable identification.
• If possible, do not use your work email address, internal company network, or company computer to submit your report.
  Your anonymity is important to us, and we will not take any measures to identify you.

To ensure that third parties cannot access the communication between you and our law firm, you can use the Signal messenger, which provides effective end-to-end encryption.
If you wish to remain anonymous but still allow us to ask follow-up questions, consider the following options:

• Set up a specific email address solely for this case.
• Utilize ProtonMail for secure and encrypted email communication.
• Consider using a prepaid phone, possibly in combination with the Signal messenger or 
• Threema
• Arrange a time for us to call you back anonymously.

You can also use this web portal to unilaterally inform us of how, when, and where you can be reached. We are also available for in-person meetings with the reporting person.

If you provide personal data, it will be protected under existing legal provisions. Detailed information on the processing of your data can be found in our Privacy Policy.

Reports are an effective means of identifying and addressing risks and legal violations at an early stage. Therefore, whistleblowers must be protected.
In particular, you must not suffer any work-related retaliation from your employer.
Work-related retaliation can encompass any act or omission that results in a professional disadvantage for the reporting person due to their report.
This includes threats or attempts at retaliation.
Possible professional disadvantages may include termination of a contract, reprimands, reassignment, discrimination, or bullying.
If you experience any form of retaliation, please contact us.
However, only "bona fide" (in good faith) whistleblowers are protected. To enjoy protection, the whistleblower must, at the time of reporting, have reasonable grounds to believe that the submitted information is true. Protection is lost if you deliberately or grossly negligently report false information.