The size of whistleblower rewards will be determined by the regulator’s executive director, based on several factors including the value of the information to the investigation, the degree of ongoing whistleblower cooperation, and the severity of the misconduct.
Whistleblower tips can be submitted anonymously or through a lawyer, but tipsters’ identities will have to be revealed to receive an award.
“The Office of the Whistleblower will only share your information and identity inside the BCSC on a need-to-know basis,” the regulator said, such as when it’s legally required to share information.
The regulator added that it’s not providing “any guarantee or assurance of confidential informer privilege.”
Prospective tipsters who are not eligible for awards include regulatory and law enforcement personnel; tips that include false, misleading or illegally acquired information; and tips from violators that only involve their own wrongdoing.
The OSC was the first Canadian regulator to launch a whistleblower program, back in 2016, modelled on the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) program.
The OSC’s program pays rewards of up to $5 million for tips that lead to successful enforcement action. Between 2016 and 2022, it paid out $9.3 million in awards to 11 whistleblowers, resulting in enforcement actions that generated approximately $48 million in monetary sanctions and voluntary payments ordered against 19 respondents.
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