Each year, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Whistleblower Office releases an Annual Report to Congress. Their report for the 2022 Fiscal Year details a record year for the SEC Whistleblower Program – the agency received the most whistleblower tips ever in a fiscal year. In addition to the record tips received, the SEC also paid out the second highest total ever in whistleblower awards.
During the 2022 Fiscal Year, which ran from October 1, 2021 through September 30, 2022, the SEC received a record 12,300 whistleblower tips. According to the report, “the most common complaint categories reported by whistleblowers were Manipulation (21%), Offering Fraud (17%), Initial Coin Offerings and Cryptocurrencies (14%), and Corporate Disclosures and Financials (13%).”
The report also notes that “the Whistleblower Program has become fundamentally international in character, with tips received from all over the world.” Whistleblowers do not need to be U.S. citizens or located within the U.S. to qualify for awards under the SEC Whistleblower Program. In the 2022 Fiscal Year, the SEC received the highest number of tips from Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany, China, Mexico, and Brazil.
“The significant increase in the number of whistleblower tips and awards since the program’s inception shows that the program, with its enhanced confidentiality protections, is effectively incentivizing whistleblowers to make the often difficult decision to come forward with information...
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