Washington, D.C. January 15, 2016. The Securities and Exchange Commission issued a landmark award to an industry expert who provided it with “high-quality analysis” in an enforcement action. The whistleblower award of more than $700,000 marks the first time the SEC has issued an award to someone outside a company since the whistleblower office opened in 2011.
The SEC did not identify the outsider or the company involved in the case, as the SEC protects the confidentiality of whistleblowers and does not disclose information that might directly or indirectly reveal a whistleblower’s identity.
“The voluntary submission of high-quality analysis by industry experts can be every bit as valuable as first-hand knowledge of wrongdoing by company insiders,” said Andrew Ceresney, Director of the SEC’s Enforcement Division. “We will continue to leverage all forms of information and analysis we receive from whistleblowers to help better detect and prosecute federal securities law violations.”
Sean X. McKessy, Chief of the SEC’s Office of the Whistleblower, added, “ We welcome analytical information from those with in-depth market knowledge and experience that may provide the springboard for an investigation.”
The SEC’s whistleblower program has paid more than $55 million to 23 whistleblowers since the program’s inception in 2011.
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