The Securities and Exchange Commission announced a record $114 million award on Thursday to a whistleblower who aided in an agency investigation.
“The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced an award of over $114 million to a whistleblower whose information and assistance led to the successful enforcement of SEC and related actions,” the SEC wrote in the Thursday announcement. “The $114 million award consists of an approximately $52 million award in connection with the SEC case and an approximately $62 million award arising out of the related actions by another agency.”
The award is more than double the previous record high, a $50 million award given in June.
“Today’s milestone award is a testament to the Commission’s commitment to award whistleblowers who provide the agency with high-quality information,” said SEC Chairman Jay Clayton. “Whistleblowers make important contributions to the enforcement of securities laws and we are committed to getting more money to whistleblowers as quickly and as efficiently as possible.”
The SEC, often a secretive agency, did not disclose what investigation the assistance was related to. As a result, CNN reports, the public may never know who won the award “or what misconduct he or she helped uncover.”
The SEC has awarded more than 108 individuals since it gave its first whistleblower award in 2012 for a total of more than $670 million. “All payments are made out of an investor protection fund established by Congress that is financed entirely through monetary sanctions paid to the SEC by securities law violators,” the SEC statement said. “No money has been taken or withheld from harmed investors to pay whistleblower awards.”
SEC whistleblower tips over nearly a decade have led to more than $2 billion in penalties from wrongdoers, and more than $500 million has been returned to investors.
“The actions of the whistleblower awarded today were extraordinary,” added Jane Norberg, chief of the SEC’s Office of the Whistleblower. “After repeatedly reporting concerns internally, and despite personal and professional hardships, the whistleblower alerted the SEC and the other agency of the wrongdoing and provided substantial, ongoing assistance that proved critical to the success of the actions.”
