The Securities and Exchange Commission has announced an award of approximately $6 million to joint whistleblowers who provided new information that led to the opening of an examination and provided a roadmap for an enforcement action that resulted in the covered action.
“Today’s award illustrates that the agency can leverage whistleblower information in various ways, including by prompting an examination,” said Jonathan Carr, Acting Chief of the SEC’s Office of the Whistleblower. “If that examination ultimately results in an enforcement action, the whistleblower may be eligible for an award.”
Payments to whistleblowers are made out of an investor protection fund, established by Congress, which is financed entirely through monetary sanctions paid to the SEC by securities law violators.
Whistleblowers may be eligible for an award when they voluntarily provide the SEC with original, timely, and credible information that leads to a successful enforcement action.
Whistleblower awards can range from 10 to 30 per cent of the money collected when the monetary sanctions exceed $1 million.
As set forth in the Dodd-Frank Act, the SEC protects the confidentiality of whistleblowers and does not disclose any information that could reveal a whistleblower’s identity.
