The Securities and Exchange Commission announced giving a more than $1.8 million award to a a company outsider who swiftly provided the agency with significant information about ongoing securities law violations.
SEC Chairman Jay Clayton commented:
Jay Clayton
Today’s award marks a milestone for the whistleblower program. This whistleblower is the 100th individual to receive an award under the program since its inception, and the 33rd individual awarded so far this year. The pace and the amounts of the awards in recent years underscore the Commission’s commitment to increasing the efficiency and effectiveness of the whistleblower program. We remain dedicated to working quickly to get more money into the hands of whistleblowers, including through the improvements that will be implemented as a result the amendments approved by the Commission last week.
Jane Norberg, Chief of the SEC’s Office of the Whistleblower said:
Today’s award demonstrates the success of the program and the important role that company outsiders can play in halting ongoing violations. While many of our whistleblowers have been insiders, the agency also receives critical intelligence from company outsiders, like today’s whistleblower, whose swift reporting alerted staff to the violations that resulted in the success of this enforcement action.
So far, the agency has awarded over $527 million since the first award was issued in 2012. Payment of the awards is taken out of an investor protection fund set up by Congress. It is financed through monetary sanctions of security law violations paid to SEC.
To be eligible for award, a whistleblower needs to voluntarily provide the commission with reliable information that leads to successful enforcement action. The awards range between 10 and 30 % of the money collected by SEC when the sanction is for more than $1 million.
According to the Dodd-Frank Act, SEC must protect the identity of the whistleblower and not disclose any information that could reveal it.
Experienced writer and journalist, working in the global online trading sector, Steffy is the Editor of LeapRate. She has previous experience as a copywriter and has been with the company since January 2020. Steffy has a British and American Studies degree from St. Kliment Ochridski University in Sofia.
