SEC awards $50 million to whistleblower

Securities SEC Whistleblower Enforcement

On April 15, the SEC announced an award of more than $50 million to joint whistleblowers in connection with violations that involved highly complex transactions that would have been difficult to detect without their information. According to the redacted order, the joint whistleblowers “assistance was critical to staff’s ability to identify and investigate the unlawful securities violations,” including meeting with staff numerous times and providing voluminous detailed documents, which led to the return of tens of millions of dollars to harmed investors.

The SEC has now awarded approximately $812 million to 151 individuals since it issued its first award in 2012.