Accounting
SEC Whistleblower Program Passes $400 Million in Awards
On April 16, the Securities and Exchange Commission announced a whistleblower award of $27 million given to an individual who reported misconduct overseas. The whistleblower also provided critical investigative leads that advanced the investigation ...
Apr. 20, 2020
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On April 16, the Securities and Exchange Commission announced a whistleblower award of $27 million given to an individual who reported misconduct overseas. The whistleblower also provided critical investigative leads that advanced the investigation and saved significant Commission resources.
The SEC reviewed the Preliminary Determination of the Claims Review Staff, which recommended the amount of the whistleblower award, and decided to give the whistleblower a larger award. The SEC pointed to the fact that the claimant had not only provided a “substantial amount of ongoing assistance and cooperation” but had “repeatedly and strenuously raised Claimant’s concerns internally.”
“This award marks several milestones for the program,” said Jane Norberg, Chief of the SEC’s Office of the Whistleblower. “This is the largest whistleblower award announced by the Commission this year, and the sixth largest award overall since the inception of the program. This award also brings the total amount awarded to whistleblowers by the SEC over the $400 million mark.”
According to whistleblower attorney Stephen M. Kohn, partner at Kohn, Kohn & Colapinto, “The SEC whistleblower reward program is among the best in the world. It is managed professionally. It protects the identity of confidential whistleblowers, and it is paying rewards. The whistleblower program effectively deters criminal activity, incentives reporting, and protects shareholders and innocent investors.”
Kohn helped draft the Dodd-Frank Act’s whistleblower protection provisions and extensively contributed to the SEC whistleblower regulations. He represents several confidential whistleblowers with cases before the SEC program and has obtained one of the largest awards granted to date for a confidential whistleblower.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s (“SEC”) whistleblower reward program has now paid out over $400 million to whistleblowers since its inception as part of the Dodd-Frank Act in 2012. This latest award brought the total up to $425 million.