Massetti

MEMORANDUM *

Petitioner Giancarlo Massetti petitions the court for review of a Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) decision overturning the immigration judge (IJ)’s decision to grant asylum and withholding of removal. The IJ held that Massetti had credibly established persecution on account of his political opinion and had shown a well-founded fear of future persecution. We have jurisdiction pursuant to 8 U.S.C. § 1252 (a)(1).

The BIA’s determination must be upheld if supported by reasonable, substantial, and probative evidence in the record. INS v. Elias-Zacarias, 502 U.S. 478, 481 , 112 S.Ct. 812 , 117 L.Ed.2d 38 (1992).

In Grava v. INS, 205 F.3d 1177, 1181 (9th Cir.2000), we held that “[wjhistleblow-ing against one’s supervisors at work is not, as a matter of law, always an exercise of political opinion. However, where the whistle blows against corrupt government officials, it may constitute political activity sufficient to form the basis of persecution on account of political opinion.” Massetti’s exposure of widespread corruption within Italy’s Guardia di Finanza arose from his anti-corruption political convictions and was directed against governmental corruption as a whole,…