A whistleblower who reportedly suffered for attempting to report suspected misconduct internally will now receive a payout from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
The SEC announced that a tipster will receive a US$5-million award after providing “significant information that led to a successful enforcement action.”
To protect the identity of whistleblowers, case details aren’t revealed.
In this case, “The whistleblower provided critical evidence of wrongdoing, which helped save time and resources in the SEC’s investigation, and the whistleblower suffered a unique hardship as a result of raising concerns internally,” the commission said.
The SEC has now awarded approximately US$430 million to 80 whistleblowers since issuing its first award in 2012.
“The whistleblower award today is the seventh award the SEC has announced to individual whistleblowers in the last month,” said Jane Norberg, chief of the SEC’s Office of the Whistleblower.
“These awards demonstrate the valuable contributions whistleblowers make to the protection of markets and investors, and we encourage people to come forward with information about possible securities law violations,” she said.