SEC awards $28M to whistleblower

The Securities and Exchange Commission said Tuesday it has awarded more than $28 million to a whistleblower whose information led to successful enforcement action.

The SEC, which does not release identifying information on these awards, said the whistleblower internally reported information that led the company to initiate an internal investigation, and saved the staff time and resources by providing testimony and identifying a key witness.

The SEC said last month it had awarded a record $114 million to a whistleblower.

In its Division of Enforcement’s 2020 annual report, which was issued Monday, the agency said it has “made efforts to streamline and substantially accelerate the evaluation of claims for whistleblower awards.”

It said fiscal year 2020 was a record-breaking year for the whistleblower program, with the commission issuing awards totaling about $175 million to 39 individuals, both greater than any other year in the program’s history.