Whistleblower
lightwise/123RF

After ordering another US$3 million in whistleblower awards, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is already poised to surpass last year’s payout record.

The SEC is paying another round of financial rewards to a total of five tipsters in three different cases.

The bulk of the awards, nearly US$1.8 million, went to a company insider who tipped off the SEC to conduct “that would have been difficult to detect in the absence of the tip,” the SEC said, adding that the tipster also provided assistance to SEC staff that resulted in money being returned to investors.

In another case, a pair of whistleblowers shared more than US$750,000 — with one receiving over US$500,000 and the other getting more than US$250,000 — for providing the agency with “substantial assistance, including participating in interviews and providing subject matter expertise.”

Finally, the SEC jointly awarded nearly US$400,000 to another pair of whistleblowers “whose analysis prompted the opening of an investigation” that led to enforcement action.

With these latest awards, the SEC has now paid out approximately US$731 million to 123 tipsters since it began paying awards in 2012, and it’s close to setting a new annual record.

In fiscal 2020 (ended Sept. 30), the SEC paid a record US$175 million to 39 tipsters.

“In the first quarter of [fiscal 2021], the SEC has made whistleblower awards of almost US$170 million to 17 individuals, which is already near the record dollar amount reached last fiscal year,” said Jane Norberg, chief of the SEC’s Office of the Whistleblower.