InfoBytes Blog
SEC awards whistleblower $1.5 million after reducing amount for reporting delay
On September 14, the Securities and Exchange Commission (Commission) announced a whistleblower award likely to yield the whistleblower more than $1.5 million for volunteering information that led to a successful enforcement action. In its order, the Commission notes that it “severely reduced the award here after considering the award criteria identified in Rule 21F-6 of the Exchange Act.” Specifically, the Commission alleges the whistleblower was culpable and “unreasonably delayed” reporting the information for over a year after the occurrence of the underlying facts, only doing so after learning a Commission investigation was ongoing and receiving a “significant and direct financial benefit.”
The SEC’s whistleblower program has awarded approximately $322 million to 58 individuals since issuing its first award in 2012.