Whistleblowers who exposed misconduct that was harming retail investors will be sharing a US$3 million award for their efforts to put a stop to it.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced that it is paying US$3 million to unnamed whistleblowers who provided a tip to the SEC, touching off its investigation and enforcement action “involving an alleged securities law violation that impacted retail investors.”
The SEC said that the whistleblowers, who submitted a joint tip and will share the award, also “undertook significant and timely steps to have their employer remediate the harm caused by the alleged violations.”
Details about whistleblower cases are not disclosed in order to protect the anonymity of tipsters.
“These whistleblowers showed great tenacity by repeatedly reporting internally and advocating for the firm to disclose the violative conduct and remedy the attendant investor harm,” Jane Norberg, chief of the SEC’s Office of the Whistleblower, said in a statement.
“Their critical information and assistance helped the SEC bring an important enforcement action aimed at protecting retail investors,” she added.
With this latest payout, the SEC has now awarded more than US$384 million to 64 individuals under its whistleblower program, which paid its first award in 2012.