Whistleblower receives more than $13 million from SEC

Steffy Bogdanova
January 7, 2022 8:58 am

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) revealed it has awarded a whistleblower with over $13 million.

The whistleblower provided the regulator with information which prompted an investigation and significantly helped the enforcement action. SEC staff was promptly alerted to an ongoing fraud by the whistleblower and they provided extensive assistance through in person meetings. They also helped the staff understand the mechanics of the fraudulent scheme.

Additionally, the whistleblower’s information also helped the SEC obtain emergency relief to minimize investor losses.

Creola Kelly, Acting Chief of the SEC’s Office of the Whistleblower said:

Today’s whistleblower provided significant information that alerted SEC staff to ongoing fraud, which had caused and was likely to continue to cause substantial injury to the financial interests of investors. Whistleblowers who provide information swiftly can not only save SEC staff’s time and resources, but also help minimize potential investor losses.

Whistleblower

So far, the agency has awarded over $1.2 billion to a total of 238 individuals since the first award was issued in 2012. Payment of the awards is taken out of an investor protection fund set up by Congress. It is financed through monetary sanctions of security law violations paid to SEC.

To be eligible for the award, a whistleblower needs to voluntarily provide the commission with reliable information that leads to successful enforcement action. The awards range between 10 and 30 % of the money collected by SEC when the sanction is for more than $1 million.

According to the Dodd-Frank Act, SEC must protect the identity of the whistleblower and not disclose any information that could reveal it.

In November last year, the regulator issued whistleblower awards in total of more than $10.4 million.

LeapRate Analyst

Experienced writer and journalist, working in the global online trading sector, Steffy is the Editor of LeapRate. She has previous experience as a copywriter and has been with the company since January 2020. Steffy has a British and American Studies degree from St. Kliment Ochridski University in Sofia.
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