The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Friday announced that a researcher who conducted a detailed analysis that led to a successful SEC enforcement action will receive a payment of more than US$700,000.
To protect the identity of whistleblowers, the SEC does not publish the details of these cases, although it does note that it was an independent analysis that helped spark enforcement action, leading to this latest payout.
“The voluntary submission of high-quality analysis by industry experts can be every bit as valuable as first-hand knowledge of wrongdoing by company insiders,” says Andrew Ceresney, director of the SEC’s enforcement division, in a statement.
Sean McKessy, chief of the SEC’s Office of the Whistleblower, adds, “This award demonstrates the commission’s commitment to awarding those who voluntarily provide independent analysis as well as independent knowledge of securities law violations to the agency. We welcome analytical information from those with in-depth market knowledge and experience that may provide the springboard for an investigation.”
The SEC’s whistleblower program has now paid more than US$55 million to 23 individuals since its launch in 2011, the U.S. regulator notes.
The Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) is proposing to launch a similar program, which would pay tipsters for information that leads to successful enforcement action by the commission. The comment period on the OSC’s proposals closed earlier this week.