The SEC issued the highest-ever award of $279 million to a whistleblower for providing information that led to a successful enforcement action. The total resolution amount of the enforcement action remains unpublished.
In its Order, the SEC determined that the information provided by the whistleblower (i) caused the SEC to expand the scope of its investigation, (ii) saved the SEC "significant time and resources" and (iii) offered substantial, continual assistance in the form of multiple written submissions, communications and interviews. The SEC noted that the whistleblower came forward with the information after the SEC had opened the investigation and was aware of the company’s potential misconduct.
The SEC said that it had considered whistleblower applications from two other whistleblowers but rejected their requests for an award.
In its Press Release, the SEC stated that the highest whistleblower award in SEC history was $114 million awarded back in 2020, less than half of $279 million awarded in this case.
Commentary
Any doubts about the potency of the SEC’s whistleblower program should be ameliorated after the SEC announced a $279 million whistleblower award—the largest in the program’s history. The minimum global resolution of the underlying conduct appears to exceed $700 million (and it's quite possible that the underlying resolution may exceed $1 billion). The record-setting whistleblower award and the mammoth resolution send a strong message to corporate America...
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