InfoBytes Blog
SEC announces $450,000 compliance-related whistleblower award
On March 30, the SEC announced a $450,000 award to a whistleblower in an enforcement action. According to the formal order, the whistleblower—who had compliance-related responsibilities at the company at issue in the enforcement action—suffered “unique hardships” after first attempting to report concerns within the company’s internal compliance structure. The whistleblower then reported the information to the SEC following the required 120-day time waiting period, which ultimately provided assistance to the SEC’s investigation and successful enforcement action. The SEC stated in its press release that this is the third whistleblower award given to an individual with compliance or internal audit responsibilities. As of March 30, the SEC has awarded 77 individuals a total of approximately $396 million in whistleblower awards since its first award in 2012.