Regulatory whistleblowers don’t get rewarded much anymore, but the practice isn’t completely dead. The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has just awarded US$1.8 million in its second bounty of the year.
The reward went to a pair of tipsters that provided the regulator with information that “significantly contributed to the successful resolution of enforcement cases involving defrauded investors,” it said.
According to the CFTC’s order, six claimants sought awards in the case. The regulator’s staff ruled that two of those claims were valid, and it denied the other four.
Two of the rejected claimants appealed, but they were again turned down, on the basis that the information they provided to the CFTC didn’t significantly contribute to the investigation, or to the enforcement action’s resolution.
For the two successful claimants, the CFTC said that they provided “crucial evidence” that contributed to the success of the case — including “ongoing, extensive and timely cooperation” with the regulator’s enforcement staff.
Additionally, the CFTC’s staff concluded that the award being handed out in this case “will incentivize future whistleblowers” to contact regulators with information about suspected misconduct.
“We are grateful to the whistleblowers for coming forward,” said Cynthia Lie, acting director of the CFTC’s whistleblower office, in a release.
“Like many before them, these whistleblowers showed courage and commitment to the public interest. They provided critical assistance that helped the commission identify fraud and return unlawfully obtained funds to American investors. We remain committed to rewarding individuals who provide significant information and cooperate with our investigations.”
However, today’s award represents just the second whistleblower payout from the CFTC in 2025. In May, it paid US$700,000 in another award.
And, while the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has continued making awards to whistleblowers, it has largely stopped touting those payouts. Its last announced award was made back in April.
Since then, the SEC has continued to handle tips and order rewards to tipsters, but those cases haven’t been the subject of press releases from the agency — and the SEC’s annual report on whistleblower activity, which is typically released in mid-November, hasn’t been published yet this year.
In fiscal 2024 (to Sept. 30), the SEC paid over US$255 million to whistleblowers, down from almost US$600 million in fiscal 2023 — a total that included a record award of almost US$279 million.