The Securities and Exchange Commission announced giving a $18 million award to a whistleblower who provided the agency with important information and evidence that lead to enforcement actions. The whistleblower repeatedly reported the problem internally before contacting the Commission.

Jane Norberg, Chief of the SEC’s Office of the Whistleblower commented:

Because of this whistleblower’s actions, harmed investors were able to recover millions of dollars in losses.

This whistleblower stepped forward and helped the agency better protect Main Street investors.

So far, the agency has awarded over $448 million to 81 individuals for their help 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 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.

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