Corporate Whistleblowers Awarded Over $400 Million Since 2012

April 17, 2020 2:50 pm Published by
A $27 million award has brought the total issued by the SEC to approximately $425 million since its first award in 2012. The payments draw from an investor protection fund established by Congress, financed entirely through sanctions paid by securities law violators.

“This is the largest whistleblower award announced by the Commission this year, and the sixth largest award overall since the inception of the program,” said Jane Norberg, Chief of the SEC’s Office of the Whistleblower.

The whistleblower in this case alerted the agency to misconduct occurring, in part, overseas. After providing the tip to the Commission, the whistleblower provided critical investigative leads that advanced the investigation and saved significant Commission resources.

Whistleblower awards can range from 10 percent to 30 percent of the money collected when the monetary sanctions exceed $1 million. As set forth in the Dodd-Frank Act, the SEC protects the confidentiality of whistleblowers and does not disclose information that could reveal their identity.

Fraud costs American businesses an estimated $652 billion a year in direct losses. In 2019, the SEC issued penalties in excess of $1.1 billion from successful enforcement actions. To learn how to build or strengthen your company’s corporate whistleblower services, get started with Issuer Direct’s free whitepaper.