A whistleblower who tipped off U.S. securities regulators to foreign misconduct has received a reward for their co-operation.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced that a tipster was awarded US$1.8 million for reporting misconduct that was committed overseas, and providing “extensive and ongoing co-operation” during its investigation, leading to a successful enforcement action.
The SEC does not reveal the details of these cases in order to protect the identity of whistleblowers.
“The whistleblower in this matter provided stellar information and ongoing assistance that resulted in the commission bringing a programmatically significant enforcement action,” said Jane Norberg, chief of the SEC’s Office of the Whistleblower.
“Moreover, the misconduct occurred abroad, and without the whistleblower’s tip and assistance, the violations at issue would have been difficult to identify,” she added.
The SEC has now paid out approximately US$387 million to 66 different tipsters since issuing its first award in 2012.