SEC awards nearly $30M to two insider whistleblowers

The Securities and Exchange Commission said Wednesday it has awarded almost $30 million to two insider whistleblowers whose tips led its staff to open an investigation.

The SEC, which does not identify the companies or the whistleblowers in its statements, said the first whistleblower, who was the first to alert SEC staff of potential wrongdoing and provided “substantial, ongoing assistance,” received an award of about $22 million.

The second whistleblower provided additional valuable information and received an award of about $7 million.

Jane Norberg, chief of the SEC’s Office of the Whistleblower, said in a statement, “The information and assistance provided by today’s whistleblowers helped the agency return tens of millions of dollars to harmed retail investors. We hope that awards like the ones issued by the Commission today will continue to incentivize individuals to come forward and report high-quality tips to the SEC.”

The SEC said it has awarded about $557 million to 102 individuals since issuing its first award in 2012. Payments are made from a fund financed by monetary sanctions paid to the SEC by securities law violators.

The SEC is finalizing new conditions for its whistleblower bounty program, which will result in rewards being issued faster and some rewards rising in value, agency officials said last week.