Whistleblowers awarded over Ksh 400 million in United States

The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) last week awarded whistleblowers $1.7 to a company insider and $2.5 million to an employee of a domestic government agency.

The whistleblower helped end a multi-year fraud that would have been hard to detect, the SEC said. “Millions of dollars were returned to harmed investors as a result of the SEC’s ensuing investigation and enforcement action,” according to the SEC.

It was the second SEC whistleblower payout last week.

The SEC On Tuesday awarded $2.5 million to an employee of a domestic government agency. it was the first SEC whistleblower award to a government employee. The whistleblower’s tip announced Tuesday “helped launch an SEC investigation and whose continued assistance enabled the SEC to address a company’s misconduct,” the SEC said.

U.S. law prohibits the SEC from identifying whistleblowers or the companies involved.

The SEC has now awarded $158 million to 46 whistleblowers since the first award in 2012.

Whistleblowers can be eligible for an award when they voluntarily provide the SEC with original, timely, and credible information that leads to a successful enforcement action.

Awards can range from 10 percent to 30 percent of the money collected when the penalties and sanctions exceed $1 million.

The SEC’s July 27, 2017 redacted Order Determining Whistleblower Award Claim is here (pdf).

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Richard L. Cassin is the publisher and editor of the FCPA Blog.