SEC awards $20 million to whistleblower despite degree of culpability and reporting delay

Rick Steves

The Securities and Exchange Commission has awarded a whistleblower with $20 million for providing new and critical information that led to the success of an enforcement action.

Payments to whistleblowers are made out of an investor protection fund, established by Congress, which is financed entirely through monetary sanctions paid to the SEC by securities law violators. According to the SEC, no money has been taken or withheld from harmed investors to pay whistleblower awards.

Original, timely, and credible information that leads to a successful enforcement action is eligible for an award that can range from 10 to 30 percent of the money collected when the monetary sanctions exceed $1 million.

Their information saves the agency time and resources

Creola Kelly, Chief of the SEC’s Office of the Whistleblower, said: “Today’s whistleblower played a crucial role in the ultimate success of the enforcement proceeding. Whistleblowers can help advance existing investigations in meaningful ways when their information saves the agency time and resources, and when their contributions allow SEC staff to better understand complicated issues.”

According to the SEC, $20 million was the appropriate award amount because of the significant information and continuing assistance that helped Enforcement Division staff more quickly and efficiently investigate complex issues.

$20 million take culpability and delay into account

According to the whistleblower award proceeding in this case (File No. 2023-17), the SEC awarded the $20 million to ‘Claimant 1’ because they voluntarily provided original information to the Commission and that this original information led to the successful enforcement of the action.

“Claimant 1, however, provided no information with respect to discussed in the Covered Action, was involved for a short period and at the direction of his/her supervisor in the conduct underlying part of the Covered Action, and delayed reporting for over two years after being involved in such conduct”, the SEC stated.

The financial watchdog said the $20 million appropriately recognizes Claimant 1’s contribution to the Covered Action while also accounting for both his/her level of culpability and unreasonable reporting delay.

Read this next

Digital Assets

BlockDAG Presale Raises $9.9M as Batch 5 Nears Sell-Out Amid Bonk’s Fluctuating Trading Volume & Spell’s Bullish Price

Explore BONK’s trading volume, SPELL’s market shifts, and why BlockDAG’s 10,000 ROI makes it an ideal crypto for savvy investors in 2024.

Digital Assets

Bybit expands into Europe amid regulatory scrutiny

Dubai-based cryptocurrency exchange Bybit is expanding its operations in Europe after encountering regulatory challenges in Hong Kong.

Digital Assets

Cathie Wood’s sponsored Bitcoin ETF sees historic $200 million inflows

The ARK 21Shares Bitcoin ETF (ARKB), co-sponsored by Cathie Wood’s ARK Invest, registered historic inflows exceeding $200 million on Wednesday, signaling a robust appetite among investors for Bitcoin-centric investments.

Digital Assets

Sam Bankman-Fried might see his 25-year sentence halved

Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder of the failed cryptocurrency exchange FTX, was sentenced to 25 years in federal prison by a Manhattan court on Thursday. This comes after he was convicted of defrauding customers and investors, with Judge Lewis Kaplan highlighting the potential future risks posed by Bankman-Fried.

Technical Analysis

EURJPY Technical Analysis Report 28 March, 2024

EURJPY currency pair under the bearish pressure after the pair reversed down from the major resistance level 164.25, which also stopped the sharp weekly uptrend at the end of last year,

Digital Assets

BlockDAG’s Presale Hits $9.9M, MultiversX & MINA Price Predictions Show Green

Read about BlockDAG’s promising $10 prediction and insights on MultiversX Price Prediction as MINA’s potential unfolds.

Digital Assets

Rockstar Co-Founder and All-star Line Up Join Advisory Board to Take Metacade into Post Beta Orbit

Metacade, the revolutionary Web3 gaming platform, prepares to streak out of beta with a slew of ground-breaking initiatives that will redefine the way blockchain games are developed.

Retail FX

Prop firm The Funded Trader shuts down, claims relaunch in April

Prop trading firm The Funded Trader has ceased all operations, with claims for a relaunch in the near future.

Digital Assets

Ethereum-Based Tokenized Real Estate Platform USP Launches On Republic

How This Californian Startup Is Revolutionizing Real Estate Investment through Ethereum-Based Tokenization.

<