• Qui Tam
  • SEC
  • CFTC
  • FCPA
  • Whistleblower Resources
  • FAQS
Subscribe
Donate
No Result
View All Result
Whistleblower Network News
The Truth at Any Cost.
Qui Tam, Compliance and Anti-Corruption News.
SIGN THE PETITION FOR NATIONAL WHISTLEBLOWER DAY IN 2023
Whistleblower Network News
  • Qui Tam
  • SEC
  • CFTC
  • FCPA
  • Whistleblower Resources
  • FAQS
Subscribe
Donate
No Result
View All Result
Whistleblower Network News
No Result
View All Result
Home Commodities

CFTC Awards Whistleblower Almost $200 Million

Ana PopovichbyAna Popovich
October 22, 2021
in Commodities, CTFC Rewards
Reading Time: 4 mins read
Exterior of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission building in Washington, DC.
Share on TwitterShare on FacebookShare on LinkedInEmail

On October 21, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) announced a whistleblower award of nearly $200 million. The whistleblower offered “specific, credible, and timely original information” that “significantly contributed to an already open investigation and led to a successful enforcement action.” The whistleblower’s contributions also led to the “success of two related actions, by a U.S. federal regulator and a foreign regulator.” This is the largest award the CFTC has given to a single whistleblower.

According to the award order, the Claims Review Staff advised that the CFTC deny the whistleblower’s award application in a Preliminary Determination. The whistleblower, or “Claimant 1” in the order, then “submitted a timely request for reconsideration of the Preliminary Determination” and provided additional information about how a Federal Regulator used the information they provided. “Based on the additional information received from Claimant 1 and the Federal Regulator, the Commission has determined that Claimant 1 significantly contributed to the success of the Covered Action and two of the Related Actions,” the order reads.

The exact percentages for the Covered Action, “related action brought by the Federal Regulator, and “the related action brought by the Foreign Regulator” that all make up the whistleblower’s award are redacted. The award order also states that the Commission denied the whistleblower’s “additional related action award application” because they did not establish that they provided information to the State Regulator.

Support Whistleblower Network News

The award order details the process through which the whistleblower’s request for reconsideration of the Preliminary Determination went. According to the order, the whistleblower “provided information that led to the successful enforcement of the Covered Action and two of the related actions because he/she significantly contributed to the Division’s investigation through original information that he/she voluntarily provided.”

The order touched on the fact that in order for a whistleblower to be eligible for an award, “there must be a ‘meaningful nexus’ between the information the whistleblower provided and the ‘Commission’s ability to successfully complete its investigation, and to either obtain a settlement or prevail in a litigated proceeding.’” In this case, the whistleblower’s information “led to a successful enforcement action because it had a meaningful nexus to the Commission’s ability to obtain [redacted] of the Covered Action.”

The CFTC assessed that the whistleblower “qualifies for an award for the Federal and Foreign Regulator actions, but does not qualify for an award brought by the State Regulator,” the reason being that the whistleblower’s information “was not shared with the State Regulator.” The order also delves into the Commission’s deciding of the award amount.

“With this award, the CFTC has granted whistleblower awards associated with enforcement actions that have resulted in monetary sanctions totaling more than $3 billion,” the press release states. Since the CFTC Whistleblower Program issued its first award in 2014, the agency has issued more than $300 million to whistleblowers. Whistleblowers “are eligible to receive between 10 and 30 percent of the monetary sanctions collected,” the press release states.

In addition, all whistleblower awards are paid out of the CFTC Customer Protection Fund, which is “financed entirely through monetary sanctions paid to the CFTC by violators” of the Commodity Exchange Act. Earlier in the year, President Biden signed into law emergency legislation to save the Fund from financial collapse; it had become endangered due to its own success and depleted from the number of awards issued.

On the same day as the CTFC announced the award, CFTC Commissioner Dawn D. Stump issued a statement about the whistleblower award determination. Stump voiced her disagreement with the Commission’s decision to award the whistleblower in relation “to the Foreign Regulator’s action.” While she emphasized her support for the agency’s whistleblower program, she pointed to the aspect of the case that dealt with a foreign futures authority. “While the Commission supports the efforts of foreign futures authorities to hold violators accountable, I believe we must undertake close scrutiny to assure ourselves that, in a given case, it is appropriate to take money from the Customer Protection Fund for an award to a whistleblower who provided information to a foreign futures authority about a violation of foreign laws,” Stump wrote in her statement.

Read the CFTC press release here.

Read the award order here.

Read more CFTC news on WNN.

Tags: CFTCCommodity Futures Trading CommissionWhistleblower awards
Previous Post

Facebook Whistleblower Sophie Zhang Testifies Before Parliament

Next Post

Newly Uncovered Documents Show Senior VA Officials Smearing a Whistleblower to Avoid Congressional Oversight

Ana Popovich

Ana Popovich

Ana Popovich is a contributing editor with Whistleblower Network News, where she writes about breaking whistleblower news, healthcare fraud whistleblowers, and Covid-19 fraud whistleblowers. Ana has a B.A. in English from Georgetown University. While at Georgetown, she was the marketing chair of an affinity group and wrote content for the McDonough School of Business’ Business for Impact program. In 2018, Popovich was a public interest legal intern at the whistleblower law firm Kohn, Kohn and Colapinto. 

Next Post
Exterior of a sign for the Department of Veterans Affairs

Newly Uncovered Documents Show Senior VA Officials Smearing a Whistleblower to Avoid Congressional Oversight

Receive Daily Alerts

Subscribe to receive daily breaking news and legislative developments sent to your inbox.

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Most Popular

US Attorneys Reflect on UK’s Whistleblowing Awareness Week

OSHA Highlights Railroad Worker Whistleblower Protections in Wake of Train Derailments

AML Whistleblower Law Could Shift the Way DOJ Handles Whistleblowers

Two Powerful Women Whistleblower Pairs to Learn From This Women’s History Month

WNN Exclusive Interview with Social Security Whistleblowers Sarah Carver and Jennifer Griffith — Part 2

Change the Culture, Make National Whistleblower Day Permanent

Whistleblower Poll

Whistleblower Poll
Whistleblower Poll

Exclusive Marist Poll: Overwhelming Public Support Among Likely Voters For Increased Whistleblower Protections

byGeoff Schweller
October 6, 2020

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT

STAY INFORMED.
Subscribe to receive breaking whistleblower updates.

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

About Us

  • About
  • Contact Us
  • Donate
  • Careers

Subscribe

  • Daily Mail
  • Follow us on Twitter
  • YouTube Channel

Contribute

  • Letter to the Editor
  • Submission Guidelines
  • Reprint Guidelines

Your Experience

  • Accessibility Statement
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use

Help

  • The Whistleblowers Handbook
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Advertise
Whistleblower Network News

Whistleblower Network News is an independent online newspaper providing our readers with up-to-date information on whistleblowing. Our goal is to be the best source of information on important qui tam, anti-corruption, compliance, and whistleblower law developments. 

Submit an Article

Copyright © 2021, Whistleblower Network News. All Rights Reserved.

This Newspaper/Web Site is made available by the publisher for educational purposes only as well as to give you general information and a general understanding of the law, not to provide specific legal advice. By using this website, you understand that there is no attorney-client relationship between you and the Newspaper/Web Site publisher. The Newspaper/Web Site should not be used as a substitute for competent legal advice from a licensed professional attorney in your state.

SIGN THE PETITION FOR NATIONAL WHISTLEBLOWER DAY IN 2023
No Result
View All Result
  • Exclusives
  • Government
    • False Claims-Qui Tam
    • Federal Employees
    • Intelligence
  • Corporate
    • CFTC & Commodities
    • Dodd-Frank
    • IRS & Tax
    • SEC & Securities
  • Features
  • Legislation
  • International
    • Foreign Corruption
  • Rewards
  • Whistleblower of the Week
  • Environment & Climate
  • Opinion
  • Editorial
  • Employment
    • Sarbanes-Oxley Whistleblowers
    • Retaliation
    • OSHA
  • Media
    • Podcasts
    • Videos
    • Webinars
    • National Whistleblower Day
  • Whistleblower Poll
  • Whistleblower Resources
    • Frequently Asked Questions
    • Resources for Locating An Attorney
    • The New Whistleblowers Handbook
  • National Whistleblower Day ’23

Copyright © 2020, Whistleblower Network News. All Rights Reserved.

Become a Whistleblower Network News Subscriber

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password? Sign Up

Create New Account!

Fill the forms below to register

All fields are required. Subscribe to WNN

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Subscribe to WNN

Add New Playlist

Go to mobile version