Four whistleblowers who provided the CFTC with support will receive an award of $625,000. One whistleblower will receive a higher percentage of the total because they “provided the highest level of ongoing assistance and cooperation to the Division of Enforcement,” the March 28 press release states. The three other whistleblowers provided the agency with support “jointly.”
The CFTC’s Whistleblower Program was created with the passage of the Dodd-Frank Act in 2010. Under the program, whistleblowers can receive 10 to 30 percent of monetary sanctions collected in an action. CFTC whistleblower awards are paid out of the CFTC Customer Protection Fund, which is financed by monetary sanctions that violators of the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) pay the agency, the press release states.
According to the award order, nine whistleblowers submitted whistleblower award applications to the CFTC, and the Claims Review Staff (CRS) decided to issue awards to just four of the applicants, denying awards to the other five individuals. “The CRS determined to grand the award applications” of the four whistleblowers “because it found these Claimants satisfied the requirements of the CEA and the Rules.” Each of the awarded whistleblowers “provided the Commission with original information” regarding the case and also offered “ongoing cooperation and assistance to Division staff, which significantly contributed to the success of the Covered Action.”
The CRS determined that one of the whistleblowers, Claimant 4, should receive a larger award because they “provided the highest level of ongoing assistance and cooperation.”
Additionally, the CRS denied whistleblower awards to the other five applicants “because each failed to meet the requirements of the CEA and the Rules.” The award order states that the CRS found one of the Claimant’s information “was not voluntary” since they provided it after a request from Division staff. This Claimant challenged the award denial decision, but the CRS maintained the decision to deny the Claimant a whistleblower award. None of the other award applicants challenged the CRS’ decision to deny them whistleblower awards.
“As reflected in the final order, the whistleblowers in this matter provided a high degree of support to Enforcement staff,” said CFTC Acting Director of Enforcement Vincent McGonagle in the press release. “After the matter was opened, the whistleblowers either individually or jointly provided ongoing cooperation and assistance that helped support several of the charges against the defendants.”
“We truly appreciate the efforts of the four meritorious whistleblowers in this matter,” added Whistleblower Office Director Christopher Ehrman. “While each of the whistleblowers provided critical information in this complicated matter, it is important that we recognize the whistleblower whose contributions went above and beyond to support the CFTC’s enforcement efforts.”