The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) revealed it has awarded a whistleblower with over $1 million.
The US watchdog said that it awarded the whistleblower for providing information and assistance that led to SEC enforcement action. The whistleblower contributed valuable information and and ongoing assistance. The whistleblower participated in an interview with the staff and provided documents and additional information, saving the SEC time and resources.
Emily Pasquinelli, Acting Chief of the SEC’s Office of the Whistleblower said:
Today’s whistleblower played a critical role in the SEC bringing an enforcement action. The whistleblower timely reported the securities law violations to the Commission and then played a key role in the successful resolution of the action.
So far, the agency has awarded over $939 million to a total of 182 individuals 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 the 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.
Earlier this month, the SEC settled charges against the operator of Coinschedule.com, a website that profiled offerings of digital asset securities.
Whistleblower recently received over a $1 million award from the SEC for providing information and assistance that led to multiple successful SEC enforcement actions.
