Whistleblower tips and complaints increased to 3,238 in 2013, up from 3,001 in 2012, the SEC’s Office of the Whistleblower said in its annual report to Congress. There were 149 FCPA tips in fiscal year 2013, up from 115 in 2012.
The SEC has now received 6,573 tips and complaints since the whistleblower program started in August 2011, the report said.
In September this year, the SEC awarded over $14 million to a whistleblower whose information helped the government recover investor funds. It was the biggest award to date under the SEC’s program, mandated by the Dodd-Frank Wall Street reform law.
The SEC hasn’t announced any awards yet in FCPA cases.
Under the program, individuals who voluntarily provide the SEC with original information that leads to a successful enforcement action with sanctions over $1 million may be eligible for an award of 10% to 30% of the money collected by the SEC or other enforcement agencies.
The most common complaint categories reported by whistleblowers in 2013 were corporate disclosures, offering fraud, and manipulation.
The SEC’s ‘2013 Annual Report to Congress on the Dodd-Frank Whistleblower’ is here (in pdf).
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Richard L. Cassin is the publisher and editor of the FCPA Blog. He can be contacted here.
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