Dive Brief:

• A bipartisan group of senators has introduced legislation that would strengthen protections for whistleblowers under a Securities and Exchange Commission program that in fiscal year 2022 received a record 12,300 allegations of securities law violations.
• Five senators — including Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, and Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass. — are sponsoring a bill that would, in part, shield whistleblowers from retaliation if they report violations to a direct superior. Currently, they are safeguarded if they bring allegations to the SEC and other government offices.
• “By improving protections for whistleblowers at the SEC, our legislation would support a culture of transparency and ultimately strengthen the agency’s mission to protect investors and markets,” Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, said in a statement.

Dive Insight:

The SEC during fiscal year 2022 granted $229 million in 103 whistleblower awards, the second highest total for both categories. Since creation of the Office for the Whistleblower in 2011, the agency has paid more than $1.3 billion in 328 awards following tips of securities law violations that led to successful enforcement actions.

Whistleblower tips and subsequent enforcement have resulted in $6.3 billion in sanctions, including $4 billion in disgorgement of ill-gotten gains and interest, the SEC said. More than $1.5 billion of the total has been, or is scheduled to be, returned to investors.

The proposed legislation would clarify that...

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