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SEC announces whistleblower awards totaling approximately $4 million
On July 21, the SEC announced that it awarded a whistleblower approximately $3 million for providing information that, according to the redacted order, led to a successful SEC enforcement action. The SEC noted that the whistleblower helped open the investigation and conserved resources by giving valuable information and ongoing assistance, such as providing documents that helped staff understand key components in the investigation.
Earlier on July 15, the SEC announced that it awarded a whistleblower more than $1 million for providing information that, according to the redacted order, also led to a successful SEC enforcement action. The SEC noted that the whistleblower helped conserve significant staff time and resources by giving valuable information and ongoing assistance, such as participating in interviews with enforcement staff, and providing documents that helped staff understand key components in the investigation.
The SEC has awarded approximately $942 million to 186 individuals since issuing its first award in 2012.
SEC awards $1 million to whistleblower
On June 24, the SEC announced that it awarded a whistleblower more than $1 million for providing information that, according to the redacted order, led to multiple successful SEC enforcement actions. The SEC noted that the whistleblower provided valuable information and ongoing assistance, participated in interviews with enforcement staff, and helped staff understand key players in the investigation. The whistleblower also helped conserve significant staff time and resources by providing information that was otherwise inaccessible to staff and suffered personal and professional hardships. The SEC added that there was also “substantial law enforcement interest in the information.”
The SEC has awarded approximately $938 million to 179 individuals since issuing its first award in 2012.
SEC issues whistleblower awards totaling nearly $5.3 million
On June 21, the SEC announced whistleblower awards to four individuals totaling nearly $5.3 million for information provided in separate enforcement actions. According to the first redacted order, the SEC awarded a whistleblower nearly $4 million for voluntarily providing original information to the Commission, leading to a successful enforcement action. The whistleblower also “provided extraordinary assistance,” participated in interviews, identified key witnesses, and provided documents to staff which led to a successful enforcement action. In the second redacted order, the SEC awarded three individuals a total of approximately $1.3 million. The first whistleblower, who received the largest award, provided substantial ongoing assistance that “saved the Enforcement staff considerable time and resources.” The other two whistleblowers provided important information concerning misconduct but did not provide any investigative leads.
The SEC has awarded approximately $937 million to 178 individuals since issuing its first award in 2012.
FinCEN recognizes law enforcement agencies for use of BSA data
On June 24, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) honored the recipients of its 2021 Law Enforcement Awards Program, which recognizes agencies that use Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) data provided by financial institutions to successfully pursue and prosecute criminal investigations. The awards were presented in eight different categories related to: (i) Covid-19 fraud; (ii) cyber threats; (iii) transnational organized crime; (iv) transnational security threats; (v) state and local law enforcement; (vi) third-party money launderers; (vii) a suspicious activity review team; and (viii) significant fraud. Awards work included investigation into Paycheck Protection Program fraud that resulted in the seizure of case over $3 million, seizure of over $47 million dollars in narcotics proceeds, and seizure of 300 cryptocurrency accounts, among other work. FinCEN acting Director Michael Mosier stated that “[t]he law enforcement work that we recognize today highlights both the importance of an effective partnership between FinCEN, financial institutions, and our law enforcement agencies, and the value of BSA reporting in protecting the American people from fraud, cybercrime, and the illicit finance threats confronting our nation.”
SEC awards $3 million in whistleblower awards
On June 14, the SEC announced whistleblower awards to two individuals totaling an initial combined payment of approximately $3 million for information and assistance provided in a successful enforcement action. According to the redacted order, the SEC awarded the first whistleblower for providing assistance early in the investigation and helping enforcement staff focus its resources and theories. The second whistleblower was rewarded for helping to uncover misappropriated funds and fraudulent transfers. The SEC noted that both whistleblowers provided ongoing assistance in the investigation, including participating in interviews and providing helpful documents involved in the investigations.
The SEC has awarded approximately $932 million to 172 individuals since issuing its first award in 2012.
SEC awards $27 million in whistleblower awards
On June 2, the SEC announced whistleblower awards to two individuals totaling nearly $23 million for information and assistance provided in multiple successful enforcement actions. According to the redacted order, the SEC awarded the first whistleblower nearly $13 million for submitting a whistleblower tip that led to the initiation of the investigations. The second whistleblower received approximately $10 million for submitting a tip that contributed to the investigation, but according to the SEC, the whistleblower “unreasonably delayed by waiting several years to report the conduct.” The SEC noted that both whistleblowers provided substantial voluntary assistance in the investigation, including participating in interviews and identifying key individuals and systems involved in the investigations.
Earlier on May 27, the SEC announced that it awarded a whistleblower more than $4 million for voluntarily providing information that prompted the SEC to open an investigation leading to a successful enforcement action. According to the redacted order, the whistleblower provided substantial information to SEC investigative staff, identified key players, provided helpful information and documents, and cooperated with investigative staff. The SEC, however, determined a second claimant to be ineligible for an award, concluding, among other things, that the claimant “provided no information that was used in or otherwise contributed to the Covered Action” nor any “unique information or insight,” which would have led to the success of the enforcement action.
The SEC has awarded more than $928 million to 166 individuals since issuing its first award in 2012.
SEC issues over $3 million in whistleblower awards
On April 23, the SEC announced whistleblower awards totaling more than $3 million in two separate enforcement actions. According to the first redacted order, the SEC awarded a whistleblower approximately $3.2 million for alerting enforcement staff to violations, identifying key issues for staff to focus on, and providing a “roadmap” for staff that conserved resources. However, the SEC noted that the whistleblower “unreasonably delayed” reporting the information to the Commission—it was submitted approximately four years after the date on which the whistleblower first noticed the misconduct—during which “investors continued to suffer harm.”
In the second redacted order, the SEC awarded a whistleblower more than $100,000 for providing information (of which “there was substantial law enforcement interest”) that assisted the Commission’s investigation and “was one of the underlying sources that formed the basis for the charges in the Covered Action.” The SEC noted that the whistleblower provided helpful assistance and suffered personal and professional hardships as a result.
SEC awards more than $500,000 to whistleblower under “safe harbor” provision
On March 29, the SEC announced a more than $500,000 whistleblower award in connection with an enforcement action. According to the redacted order, the whistleblower raised concerns about alleged securities violations internally, which prompted an investigation by the company. The company then reported the information to an outside agency, which in turn made a referral to Commission staff, thus prompting the opening of the SEC’s investigation. The SEC noted that the whistleblower also provided helpful documents and met with Commission staff, allowing the SEC and another agency to quickly file actions and shut down the ongoing fraudulent scheme. Additionally, the SEC explained that because the whistleblower also submitted a tip to the SEC within 120 days of reporting the violations internally to the company, the whistleblower satisfied the SEC’s whistleblower rule’s “safe harbor” provision, thereby allowing the SEC to treat the whistleblower’s information “as though it had been made on the date that the [whistleblower] provided that same information to his/her employer[].”
The SEC has now paid approximately $760 million to 145 individuals since the inception of the whistleblower program in 2012. The Commission noted that, with this award, it has now “awarded 40 individuals this fiscal year, surpassing last year’s record of 39 individual awards,” and has “awarded whistleblowers nearly $200 million in the first half of FY21 alone.”
SEC issues more than $6.5 million in whistleblower awards
On March 9, the SEC announced an approximately $1.5 million whistleblower award in connection with a successful enforcement action. According to the redacted order, the whistleblower provided information that led to the opening of the investigation, and assisted enforcement staff by providing multiple written submissions and identifying potential witnesses. The whistleblower also met with enforcement staff multiple times to explain information.
Earlier, on March 4, the SEC announced a more than $5 million joint award to two whistleblowers who alerted enforcement staff to misconduct occurring abroad that would otherwise “have been difficult to detect.” According to the redacted order, the whistleblowers voluntarily submitted a joint tip that led to the opening of the investigation, and continued to assist enforcement staff by providing information that directly supported certain allegations in the enforcement action. However, in the same order, the SEC affirmed denial of two other claimants’ award claims after determining that the individuals did not submit information leading to the successful enforcement of the covered action. The SEC noted, among other things, that these claimants’ tips did not cause the opening of the investigation and that the information provided related to conduct by “entirely different companies” and was not used in the covered action.
The SEC has now paid approximately $759 million to 143 individuals since the inception of the whistleblower program in 2012.
Senate investigation finds that oligarchs use art industry to avoid sanctions
Last month, the U.S. Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations issued a bipartisan report titled “The Art Industry and U.S. Policies that Undermine Sanctions,” which details findings from a two-year investigation related to how Russian oligarchs appear to have used the art industry to evade U.S. sanctions. According to the Subcommittee, the investigation—which focused on major auction houses, private New York art dealers, and seven financial institutions—revealed that the “secretive nature” of the art industry “allowed art intermediaries to purchase more than $18 million in high-value art in the United States through shell companies linked to Russian oligarchs after they were sanctioned by the United States in March 2014,” and that, moreover, “the shell companies linked to the Russian oligarchs were not limited to just art and engaged in a total of $91 million in post-sanctions transactions.” The report claims that the art industry is largely unregulated, and, unlike financial institutions, is not subject to the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) and is not required to maintain anti-money laundering (AML) and anti-terrorism financing controls. However, the report notes that sanctions imposed by the U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) do apply to the industry, emphasizing that U.S. persons are not allowed to conduct business with sanctioned individuals or entities.
The Subcommittee’s key findings include that while four of the major auction houses have established voluntary AML controls, they treat an art agent or advisor as the principal purchaser of the art, which allows the auction house to perform due diligence on the art agent or advisor instead of identifying and evaluating a potentially undisclosed client. The auction houses also reportedly rely on financial institutions to identify the source of funds used to purchase the art. Because of these practices, the report concludes that these shell companies continue to have access to the U.S. financial system despite the imposition of sanctions.
The report makes several recommendations including: (i) the BSA should be amended to include businesses that handle transactions involving high-value art; (ii) Treasury should be required to collect beneficial ownership information for companies formed or registered to do business in the U.S., making the information available to law enforcement; (iii) Treasury should consider imposing sanctions on a sanctioned individual’s immediate family members; (iv) Treasury should announce and implement sanctions concurrently “to avoid creating a window of opportunity for individuals to avoid sanctions”; (v) the ownership threshold for blocking companies owned by sanctioned individuals should be lowered or removed; (vi) Treasury should maximize its use of suspicious activity reports filed by financial institutions to, among other things, alert other financial institutions of the risks of transacting with sanctioned entities; (vii) OFAC should issue comprehensive guidance for auction houses and art dealers on steps for determining “whether a person is the principal seller or purchaser of art or is acting on behalf of an undisclosed client, and which person should be subject to a due diligence review”; and (viii) OFAC should issue guidance on “the informational exception to the International Emergency Economic Powers Act related to ‘artworks.’”
Additionally, in June, a bipartisan group of senators introduced the Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2020 (AMLA) as an amendment (S.Amdt 2198 to S.4049) to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which would, among many other things, require federal agencies to study “the facilitation of money laundering and the financing of terrorism through the trade of works of art or antiquities” and, if appropriate, propose rulemaking to implement the study’s findings within 180 days of the AMLA’s enactment.