US SEC gives largest-ever Whistleblower Award of more than $30M
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC, announced Monday that it will give out the largest-ever whistleblower award to an anonymous tipster who lives outside the country. The whistleblower will receive more than $30 million for providing crucial information that led to an enforcement action in a fraud case.
The latest award is the fourth such instance where the SEC rewarded a whistleblower living in a foreign country, which according to the agency demonstrates the “international reach” of the SEC program.
“This whistleblower came to us with information about an ongoing fraud that would have been very difficult to detect,” Andrew Ceresney, director of the SEC’s Division of Enforcement, said, in a statement. “This record-breaking award sends a strong message about our commitment to whistleblowers and the value they bring to law enforcement.”
The whistleblower program was authorized by the 2010 Dodd-Frank Wall Street reform act, according to media reports. Prior to Dodd-Frank, the SEC could only reportedly reward tipsters for helping on insider-trading cases. And, in keeping with U.S. regulations, the SEC does not reveal the nature of the enforcement action or the identity of the whistleblower.
“The money paid to whistleblowers comes from an investor protection fund established by Congress at no cost to taxpayers or harmed investors,” SEC said, in the statement.
The report also stated that most foreign whistleblowers came from the U.K., Canada and China.
Source: ibtimes- US SEC gives largest-ever Whistleblower Award of more than $30M
