Seven whistleblowers were awarded a total of $104 million for assisting the Securities and Exchange Commission with its investigations, the SEC announced.
The commission said the seven individuals receiving the awards provided information and assistance that led to a successful SEC enforcement action and related actions brought by another agency.
The group included two sets of joint claimants and three single claimants. The SEC said they each came forward with information that led to the opening of an SEC investigation or significantly contributed to a probe. The commission said their assistance to the staff included providing documents supporting allegations of misconduct, sitting for interviews, and identifying potential witnesses.
“Today’s awards show that specific and credible information plays an integral part in the SEC’s enforcement efforts,” said Creola Kelly, Chief of the SEC’s Office of the Whistleblower. “These whistleblowers provided information that helped Enforcement staff detect and prosecute wrongdoing in a timely manner.”
The combined award to the seven individuals was the fourth largest in the SEC’s whistleblower program’s history.
Whistleblowers may be eligible for an award when they voluntarily provide the SEC with original, timely, and credible information that leads to a successful enforcement action. Payments to whistleblowers are made out of an investor protection fund, established by Congress under the Dodd-Frank Act of 2010. The fund is financed entirely through monetary sanctions paid to the SEC by securities law violators. Whistleblower awards can range from 10 to 30 percent of the money collected when the monetary sanctions exceed $1 million. The identity and confidentiality of those who come forward is protected by the SEC.
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