On August 27, 2021, the US Securities and Exchange Commission announced over $2 million in whistleblower awards. One of the orders awarded over $1 million to three whistleblowers who were in compliance roles at the company that was the subject of the enforcement action. The SEC found that the three were eligible to receive awards due to Exchange Act Rule 21F-4(b), which enables compliance professionals to report alleged violations to the SEC 120 days after the violations were first reported internally.
Another approximately $1.2 million was awarded to a claimant who provided “independent analysis” through the development and use of a “complex algorithm” that analyzed publicly available data. According to the SEC order, the information provided enabled the SEC to save time and resources and successfully negotiate a settlement. A third order awarded over $350,000 to an individual who, through “unusual effort and expertise,” helped the SEC identify connections between a company and “previous or ongoing promotional campaigns that were suspicious in nature.”
To date, the SEC has awarded approximately $959 million to 203 individuals since the whistleblower program was launched in 2012.