The Commodity Futures Trading Commission has revealed a nearly $200 million award to whistleblower for providing specific, credible, and timely original information. The intelligence he provided significantly contributed to an already open investigation and led to a successful enforcement action, as well as to the success of two related actions.
The whistleblower’s contributions led the US regulator to important, direct evidence of wrongdoing.
The CFTC explained that in order to qualify for the award, a whistleblower who provided significant information to an investigation, must demonstrate a connection between their contribution and the regulator’s ability to successfully complete its investigation, and to either obtain a settlement or prevail in a litigated proceeding. The CFTC has determined that this whistleblower has met this standard.
With this whistleblower award, the total awards associated with enforcement actions, granted by the CFTC, reach over $3 billion.
So far, the US watchdog has awarded around $300 million to whistleblowers for their help since the first award was issued in 2014. The whistleblower awards are paid from the CFTC Customer Protection Fund, which was established by Congress.
