On December 17, the BBC reported that the Tata Group, the multinational corporation which owns Jaguar Land Rover and has ties to VinFast, fired mechanical engineer Hazar Denli after he blew the whistle on the safety of electric cars produced by VinFast.
According to U.S. whistleblower law firm Kohn, Kohn & Colapinto (KKC), Denli has filed whistleblower disclosures with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Both the SEC and NHTSA have whistleblower programs offering monetary awards to whistleblowers whose disclosures lead to successful enforcement actions.
Denli is specialist in chassis design and while working on VinFast electric cars he identified improperly designed components in the car’s chassis, including its suspension system.
“At low mileages, some of them were snapping off, he said,” the BBC reports. “That created a risk that under stress, such as hitting a pothole at speed, the wheels could become misaligned, causing the car to veer to the left or right without prompting, and the driver could lose control, Mr Denli added.”
After reporting internally, Denli posted his safety concerns anonymously on Reddit. The Tata Group was able to identify him as the poster and subsequently fired him. According to KKC, Denli made official whistleblower disclosures to the SEC and NHTSA before speaking to the BBC for their reporting.
“We are proud to be representing Mr. Denli, who has demonstrated immense bravery in coming forward with information about critical safety issues,” says (KKC) founding partner Michael Kohn, who is representing Denli in his complaints with U.S. regulators. “We hope that authorities will respond accordingly to such a serious and pressing matter.”
“Mr. Denli has found egregious safety issues in VinFast cars that are being sold in the United States,” adds KKC’s Benjamin Calitri, who is representing Denli alongside Kohn. “This case shows the transnational power of U.S. whistleblower laws, as a foreign whistleblower can provide information on an international company that is harming Americans.”
Denli is located in the UK but the U.S. whistleblower programs at the SEC and NHTSA have a transnational reach. In fact, given the efficacy of U.S. award programs compared to the UK whistleblower system, UK whistleblowers have been flocking to U.S. regulators in recent years.
The SEC Whistleblower Program offers monetary awards to individuals who voluntarily provide original information about securities law violations. The NHTSA’s Auto Safety Whistleblower Program offers awards to auto industry insiders who report safety issues.
While the Auto Safety Whistleblower Program was established in 2015, the NHTSA just published final rules for the program on December 12, 2024. In 2021, the NHTSA issued its first and only whistleblower award, a $24 million award to a whistleblower who provided information about the untimely recalls for Theta II engines by Hyundai and Kia.