As the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) faces the prospect of additional regulatory duties involving new sports prediction markets, the federal agency’s whistleblower program may be in peril. That concern compounds the CFTC’s broad enforcement limitations, which also include a depleted staff and White House mandate to reduce punitive actions.
Public records released by the CFTC this week provide an update of the program’s budget outlook after years of warnings about a funding lapse. A 2025 state-of-play overview compiled by the CFTC says the whistleblower program is still “under financial strain” and suggests this could be the year it shutters.
The whistleblower office accounts for 40% of the disciplinary action by the CFTC’s division of enforcement, such as when a whistleblower flagged alleged Deutsche Bank AG interest rate manipulation, leading to an $800 million CFTC sanction on the financial firm in 2015.
The continuing resolution bill in March gave the whistleblower office short-term emergency funds—but that fix expires Sept. 30.
“The Whistleblower Office forecasts that anticipated award payments in 2025 will far exceed the balance of the fund,” the state-of-play document says. “If and when the fund is exhausted, the CFTC will not be able to support the operations of its whistleblower office and staff. This outcome would have significantly negative effects on the CFTC enforcement program.”
Barring Congressional funding intervention after Sept. 30, the...
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