An anonymous tip from an employee led to an internal review as well as an SEC review that ended with the award of $4.5 million in May.
The unidentified employee first sent the anonymous tip to the employer, alleging “significant wrongdoing.” The company then conducted its own investigation and self-reported its findings to the SEC, who then launched its own investigation into the allegations. Continue reading
On June 3, 2019, the SEC announced that two individuals will share a $3M award after providing information that led to a successful action surrounding a securities law violation. Since they supplied this information jointly, they will each receive half of the award. The amount is 30% of the financial penalties imposed on their former employer, identified by The Wall Street Journal and legal counsel for both individuals Merrill Lynch. (The SEC does not identify whistleblowers, their company, or any identifying information.) Continue reading
Recently, the SEC announced that it has paid a $3M award to a group of whistleblowers who provided information to the agency about an alleged securities law violation that led to an SEC investigation. While the SEC gets a fair amount of attention for these kinds of cases, it’s not the only agency that not only investigates wrongdoing and pays whistleblowers for their help.
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) is a federal governing agency that regulates commodity futures and option markets in the US. Although the futures market began primarily in the agricultural sector, the futures industry has become much more complex, and the agency’s mandate has been expanded since its inception in 1974. Continue reading
On March 26, the SEC announced that it was going to award $37 million to a whistleblower who assisted in an enforcement action. This whistleblower provided the SEC with very important information.
This situation shows how important whistleblowers are to the SEC. This investigation, and other previous investigations, would have never come to resolutions without information from whistleblowers. Continue reading
On March 26, the SEC announced that it was going to award $13 million to a whistleblower who assisted in an enforcement action. This whistleblower provided the SEC with very important information which allowed the SEC to target widespread misconduct.
This situation shows how important whistleblowers are to the SEC. This investigation, and other previous investigations, would have never come to resolutions without information from whistleblowers. Continue reading
On March 26, the SEC announced that it was going to award a total of $50 million to two whistleblowers who assisted in an enforcement action. They provided the SEC with very important information which allowed the SEC to take action. One whistleblower was awarded $13 million, and the other one was awarded $37 million. The $37 million is the SEC’S third-highest award.
This situation shows how important whistleblowers are to the SEC. This investigation, and other previous investigations, would have never come to resolutions without information from whistleblowers. Continue reading
Trevor Murray, an ex-UBS AG analyst, is asking a New York federal judge to award him $3.2 in attorneys’ fees from a lawsuit he filed against his former employer. Murray is claiming that federal securities law requires the bank to allocate the funds to him.
Murray was victorious in his almost seven-year fight with the bank after he was allegedly fired in 2012 for his complaints. He was allegedly complaining that he was being pressured to falsify a report to better market conditions to boost UBS’ revenue numbers, in order to attract more investors. Both of the law firms that represented him in that case have asked for fees for their work.
Murray has stated that, since he’s won a jury verdict in this case, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act provides that his legal bills.
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced on September 24, 2018 that it has awarded nearly $4 million to an overseas whistleblower.
The overseas whistleblower provided a tip that led the SEC to open an investigation. Further, the overseas whistleblower’s assistance helped the SEC bring a successful enforcement action.
This is one of the few instances in which the SEC issued a whistleblower award to an overseas whistleblower. The award indicates that any individual, overseas or in the United States of America, that voluntarily provides the SEC with original, relevant information is eligible to participate in the whistleblower process, be afforded the protections of the process, and obtain a whistleblower award.
The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission announced that it has awarded more than $45 million to whistleblowers. This includes a recent $30 million award to a whistleblower, the largest single award in the program. A second whistleblower award of $70,000 is the first to be awarded to a resident of a foreign country. Both individuals provided critical information that led to successful outcomes.
The program encourages individuals to report misconduct and violations of the Commodities Exchange Act (CEA.) Whistleblowers are offered protection against retaliation for reporting, and these awards are given for successful recovery.
According to the CFTC’s website, the Whistleblower Program “was created by section 748 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010 (Dodd-Frank Act). The CFTC pays monetary awards to eligible whistleblowers that voluntarily provide the CFTC with original information on violations of the CEA that leads the CFTC to bring a successful enforcement action resulting in monetary sanctions exceeding $1,000,000.”
The Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) announced that it was awarding a whistleblower more than $2.2 million on April 5, 2018 using the “safe harbor” provision of the Securities Exchange Act of 1943.
The whistleblower, a former company insider, first reported the information to another federal agency and later provided the same information to the SEC. The information helped the SEC open an investigation that led to an enforcement action.
While not the highest amount awarded to a whistleblower by the SEC, the award is significant as it is the first award paid under the “safe harbor” of The Securities Exchange Act of 1934 Rule 21F-4(b)(7). The rule treats whistleblower information as though it had been submitted to the SEC at the same time that it was submitted to another federal agency as long as that same whistleblower information was submitted to the SEC within 120 days of first filing.
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