Whistleblowers sometimes lose everything. Sometimes they win $279,000,000. The SEC issued the largest award in its history, reports NBC News. The whistleblower's identity is not disclosed, as per the law protecting their anonymity.
The Securities and Exchange Commission said the unnamed whistleblower provided information and assistance that led to a successful enforcement action, which the agency didn't describe. The payout is well more than double the second-largest award of $114 million, issued in October 2020.
The huge sum is intended to incentivize witnesses to disclose potential securities law violations and "reflects the tremendous success of our whistleblower program," Gurbir S. Grewal, director of the SEC's Division of Enforcement, said.
Payments to whistleblowers are made out of an investor protection fund, established by Congress, which is financed entirely through monetary sanctions paid to the SEC by securities law violators. No money has been taken or withheld from harmed investors to pay whistleblower awards. Whistleblowers may be eligible for an award when they voluntarily provide the SEC with original, timely, and credible information that leads to a successful enforcement action, and adhere to filing requirements in the whistleblower rules. Whistleblower awards can range from 10 to 30 percent of the money collected when the monetary sanctions exceed $1 million.
The whistleblower's cut is 10-30%. Any guesses/reports out there about which case(s) it is?
