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 multiple successful SEC enforcement actions. The whistleblower contributed valuable information and participated in interviews with SEC staff.
Emily Pasquinelli, Acting Chief of the SEC’s Office of the Whistleblower said:
Today’s whistleblower played a critical role in the SEC bringing these important enforcement actions. The whistleblower’s information prompted the opening of the investigation, and their continued cooperation saved significant SEC staff time and resources.
So far, the agency has awarded over $938 million to a total of 179 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 week, the recently revealed that it has settled its charges against CEO John Wise and his company Loci Inc. following accusations that the entity had made materially misleading and false statements regarding a sale and offer of digital asset securities that were later found to be unregistered.
Whistleblower recently received over a $5.3 million award from the SEC for providing information related to separate enforcement proceedings.
