The SEC’s decision on Friday to reverse Trump-era restrictions on its whistleblower program divided the five-member body, with its newest member citing concerns about the program’s secrecy that were outlined in a recent Bloomberg Law investigation.
“The Whistleblower Program has come under increasing scrutiny from some on the basis that it operates with a lack of transparency. These concerns are understandable, given that the Whistleblower Program has paid out more than $1.1 billion in awards since inception from funds that would have otherwise benefitted taxpayers,” Securities and Exchange Commissioner Mark T. Uyeda wrote in a statement.
Uyeda’s statment linked to last month’s Bloomberg Law investigation with a footnote that “SEC whistleblower decisions are inconsistent, cloaked in secrecy, often go to clients of agency ex-officials.”
The whistleblower program has come under increasing scrutiny from some, including Alex Platt, a University of Kansas law professor who studied the program’s lack of transparency and whose work was also cited by Uyeda.
Uyeda opposed the two measures, which went into place only about 18 months ago. One change takes away the commission’s ability to reduce the highest awards, while the other expands a whistleblower’s ability to get paid for work done for other federal agencies.
“To the extent that the Commission seeks to improve the Whistleblower Program and its rules, it should perhaps consider promoting greater visibility into its claims and...
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