The Securities and Exchange Commission's whistleblower program has distributed its second-largest award of more than $22 million. The program, established by Congress in 2011 to help address and deter federal securities law violations, paid its first award in 2012 and since has incentivized whistleblowers to provide information that has resulted in the reclamation of more than $500 million.
"This is a watershed moment for the SEC's whistleblower program," said Jane Norberg, acting chief of the SEC's Office of the Whistleblower, in an Aug. 30 news release. "The SEC has issued more than $100 million in whistleblower awards in five years, demonstrating the invaluable information and assistance whistleblowers have provided to the agency and underscoring the program's resounding success."
Paid from a Congress-established investor protection fund financed through sanctions paid to the SEC by violators, whistleblowers providing voluntary, exclusive, applicable information leading to law enforcement actions may receive 10 to 30 percent of the money collected from sanctions exceeding $1 million. To date, 33 whistleblowers have received awards.
Whistleblowers, whose identities are kept confidential to ensure they avoid retaliation for reporting violations, have provided more than 14,000 tips since the program launched, resulting in more than $300 million being returned to affected investors. Tips can be reported at www.sec.gov/whistleblower.
