KNOW YOUR RIGHTS
Citi Ethics has been known to ask employees during investigations whether they’ve made reports to regulators or blown the whistle with outside parties.
Citi’s own policies state that company policy does NOT prohibit employees from speaking with regulators.
So why is the Ethics team quietly asking employees whether they did exactly that — during internal investigations?
This is a major red flag. Employees have federally protected rights to report to the SEC, CFPB, FINRA, and other regulators — and NO employer should be probing whether you’ve exercised those rights.
The hypocrisy of written policy versus actual behavior is not a technicality.
If you’ve been asked this question by Citi Ethics or any internal investigation team, document everything. This type of questioning can constitute retaliation or intimidation under whistleblower protection laws.