SEC announces record $50M whistleblower award

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday announced a record-breaking nearly $50 million whistleblower award to an individual who provided detailed information of a company’s misconduct that resulted in a successful enforcement action.

The SEC, which does not identify the whistleblower or the company involved, said this was the largest amount ever awarded to one individual under the SEC’s whistleblower program, with the next largest amount a $39 million award to an individual in 2018. Two individuals also shared a $50 million whistleblower award in 2018.

Jane Norberg, chief of the SEC’s Office of the Whistleblower, said in a statement the award brings the total awarded to whistleblowers by the SEC to more than $500 million, including more than $100 million in this fiscal year alone.

A total of 83 individuals have been awarded since the first award in 2012, according to the SEC.

Last week, Argo Group International Holdings Ltd. agreed to pay a $900,000 civil fine to settle SEC charges it failed to disclose millions of dollars in executive perks provided to former CEO Mark Watson.