Complying with statutory regulations and internal rules has top priority at Audi China. We can only avoid damage to our company, our employees and business partners if laws and legislations, rules and standards are respected. Consequently, misconduct must be recognized swiftly, processed and immediately remedied.
That calls for vigilance on the part of everyone along with a willingness to draw attention to possible serious regulatory violations on the basis of concrete evidence. We also value information of this nature from business partners, customers and other third parties.
A key pillar of our Whistleblower System is the principle of procedural fairness. It also lays out the possible and legally-allowed protection for whistleblowers, Persons Implicated and employees contributing to the investigation of reported misconduct. This also includes offering opportunities for anonymous reporting and communication. We assure not to perform steps in order to identify anonymous whistleblowers, we do not misuse our Whistleblower System. Retaliation of whistleblowers and all persons who contribute to investigations at the company will not be tolerated.
The whistleblower system guarantees the greatest possible protection for whistleblowers and persons implicated. An investigation is only initiated after very careful examination of the facts and concrete evidence of a regulatory violation. There will be strict confidentiality and secrecy throughout the investigative process. Information will be reviewed fairly, promptly and in a sensitive manner.