2016 is shaping up to be the year of the Whistleblower , with both the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) doling out substantial sums to individuals aiding in investigations. The latest development has seen the CFTC award $50,000 following a successful enforcement action from the regulator.
The CFTC presently relies on its Whistleblower Program to help aid in investigations. The latest reward from the regulator is the fourth instance in which a whistleblower has been instrumental in providing valuable information about violations of the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA), as well as being the third such award made in the last 10 months alone.
The awards have varied between 10% and 30% of the monetary sanctions collected to date, while whistleblowers are entitled to the same percentage of any additional amounts collected. The last award announced by the CFTC dates back to April 2016, which swelled to more than $10 million
One of the largest sums to date was offered by the SEC last month, which pitched a sum of up to $17 million in the form of a whistleblower award to any former company employee whose tip substantially and materially advances and assists in the regulator’s investigation and enforcement action.
According to Aitan Goelman, Director of the CFTC’s Division of Enforcement, in a recent statement on the whistleblower initiative: “Whistleblower tips are an increasingly important source of information for the Division, and we encourage anyone with knowledge of a violation of our statute to contact our Whistleblower Office as soon as possible.”
