“Uber” scandal, this is the person who discovered the company documents

MacGann led Uber's lobbying efforts in Europe, Africa and the Middle East between 2014 and 2016.

He told the British daily that he decided to speak because he believed Uber violated the law in dozens of countries and deceived people about the company's business model.

I was the one who talked to governments, and I was the one who pushed this with the media, and I was the one who told people that they had to change the rules because drivers would benefit and people would have so many economic opportunities”, said 52-year-old in an interview with The Guardian.

When it turned out that it wasn't like this we actually sold people a lie, how can you have a clean conscience if you don't get up and own your contribution in the way people are treated today?

Journalists equipped with sensitive information have accused the company of breaking the “law” and of using aggressive tactics to decide in the face of opposition from politicians and taxi companies.

Uber said MacGann “couldn't possibly speak” for the company now.

The firm added it was “to mark” MacGann spoke only after he received $55,000 euros (5885,000) following a lawsuit for a bonus he said the firm Uber owed him.

The Guardian has shared with the International consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) about 124,000 documents, dating from 2013 to 2017, including emails and messages from Uber's directors at the time, as well as presentations, notes and bills.

On Sunday, several news agencies, including the Washington Post, Le Monde and BBC, published their first articles by Uber Files.

Uber denied all charges, including obstruction of justice, saying he had changed since former chief Travis Kalanick, who was charged with creating a toxic culture in the workplace.

The firm has been involved in scandals involving harassment, piracy, industrial spying and legal battles since its establishment in 2010.

Le Monde focused particularly on connections between Uber Company and French President Emmanuel Macron, who is accused of negotiating with the firm a “secret agreement” on regulation when he was economy minister between 2014 and 2016.

Macron allegedly held undeclared meetings with Uber leaders and helped him consolidate the company's position in France at a time when it was overturning the traditional taxi market.

The Irish-born MacGann told The Guardian that the ease with which Uber gained access to the powerful in countries such as Britain, France and Russia was “decent”, but also “fairly unfair” and <x4democratic”.

MacGann also accused Uber of adopting a confrontational strategy against the taxi industry under Kalanick, who personally exposed it in France and Spain.

He said he received death threats and Uber provided him with a bodyguard, adding that the experience had consequences to his mental health and contributed to a diagnosis of post-traumatic stress disorder. / REL