The SEC announced an award of over $150,000 to an unnamed whistleblower whose tips helped the agency stop a scheme that was defrauding investors.
The case didn’t involve violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, which are also elegible for whistleblower rewards. In its annual report last year, the SEC said it had received 3,001 whistleblower tips. Of those, 115 were FCPA-related complaints. The agency hasn’t made an FCPA-related award yet.
In this week’s award, the tips provided by the whistleblower allowed the SEC to open an investigation and provide relief quickly, keeping further investors from being harmed. The award represents 30 percent of the money collected by the SEC in the action, the maximum permitted by law.
It was the sixth whistleblower award since the SEC’s award program started two years ago. The largest award to an SEC whistleblower was announced earlier this month and was just over $14 million.
____________
Julie DiMauro is the executive editor of FCPA Blog. She can be reached here.
Comments are closed for this article!