Updated

The European Union's antitrust chief says it is "a good thing" for corporate whistleblowers to alert authorities so that any possible corruption can be dealt with legally.

EU Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager spoke Monday ahead of a verdict in a Luxembourg court this week on appeals by two former accounting firm employees who were convicted in June of stealing private documents. A journalist who used the material, dubbed "LuxLeaks," in a series of newspaper articles was acquitted.

Vestager said she could do nothing for the defendants, but added that "it is important when people tell if they find that something is not the way it should be — then authorities, law enforcers can do their job and do it in a better way."