US SEC Awards $2.6 Million to Whistleblowers in Three Cases

The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced on Friday that it had awarded approximately $2.6 million to five whistleblowers who assisted in three separate cases. According to the press release, the watchdog granted around $1.2 million to one whistleblower who gave “valuable independent analysis” based upon a complex algorithm.

That said, such maneuver helped the SEC’s staff to save time and spend it on other resources, plus helping to bolster the settlement negotiations of an enforcement action in consequence. The second-order notes that $1 million was given to three individuals whose information led to take enforcement actions that ended successfully. Although these persons had roles in the involved company, they were still entitled to receive the award “because they submitted their information to the Commission more than 120 days after the alleged conduct had been reported internally.”

On the same line, the third-order stated: “The SEC awarded a whistleblower more than $350,000 for providing independent analysis that led to a successful enforcement action. Based on unusual effort and expertise developed over many years, the whistleblower identified patterns among publicly available information that allowed the Commission to quickly identify and prevent wrongdoing and to preserve assets.”

Bolstering Whistleblower Awarding Program

“Today’s awards demonstrate the Commission’s commitment to reward whistleblowers who provide valuable information, developed either from a whistleblower’s independent knowledge or the whistleblower’s independent analysis, which substantially contributes to a successful enforcement action,” Emily Pasquinelli, Acting Chief of the SEC’s Office of the Whistleblower, commented on the awards given to the whistleblowers today.

The SEC has been actively bolstering its whistleblower’s awarding program. In June, Finance Magnates reported that the watchdog granted around $5.3 million to whistleblowers who have assisted them by providing information regarding enforcement proceedings. One of them pocketed almost $4 million for sending sensitive information that allowed the watchdog to succeed in an enforcement action.

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