On August 29, 2024, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission announced that it awarded a whistleblower more than $4 million for providing original information that led to the successful enforcement of a covered action. According to Ian McGinley, the CFTC’s Director or Enforcement, the information provided by the whistleblower played a key role in ending the misconduct under investigation and would have been difficult to detect without whistleblower’s assistance and cooperation. The award was provided in accordance with the Commission’s Whistleblower Rules, 17 CFR pt. 165, and promulgated pursuant to Section 23 of the Commodity Exchange Act (“Act”), 17 USC § 26. The Act further provides that the amount awarded is “in the discretion of the Commission.”
The CFTC’s Claims Review Staff (“CRS”) considered several factors before granting the award, including the “highly significant” information provided by the claimant that prompted the Commission to open its investigation. The CRS also considered the claimant’s cooperation with investigators and, in particular, the multiple meetings with CFTC staff in which he/she shared information related to the complex products and transactions involved in the misconduct at issue. The CRS also considered the claimant’s willingness to meet for follow-up inquiries. According to the CFTC’s order, the award was granted despite CRS findings that the claimant’s report to the CFTC was “unreasonably delayed.”