On November 15, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Office of the Whistleblower published its Annual Report to Congress for Fiscal Year 2024 detailing another hugely successful year for the SEC Whistleblower Program.
“The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s Whistleblower Program (Program) had another strong year, working to fulfill its mission to protect investors by administering an efficient program that is responsive to whistleblower needs and helps the Commission identify and stop securities law violations,” the report states.
According to the report, the SEC Whistleblower Program received a record 24,980 whistleblower tips during FY 2024 and awarded over $255 million to 47 whistleblowers, the third highest annual amount ever awarded.
“The SEC Office of the Whistleblower’s Annual Report to Congress demonstrates once again that the whistleblower program is a crown jewel of the agency and a cornerstone of its enforcement efforts” said Andrew Feller, co-Chair of Kohn, Kohn & Colapinto’s Securities and Commodities Whistleblower Group. “We commend the Office of the Whistleblower for the steps it’s taken to ensure the protection of whistleblowers from retaliation, and to continue its welcome efforts to increase the efficiency of awards processing.”
According to the SEC, the most common fraud areas reported by whistleblowers were Manipulation (37%), Offering Fraud (21%), Initial Coin Offerings and Crypto Asset Securities (8%), and Corporate Disclosures and Financials (8%).
The SEC Whistleblower Program is transnational, individuals from across the globe can qualify under the program and may report misconduct occurring overseas if it falls under SEC jurisdiction. According to the report, the foreign countries from which the Commission received the most whistleblower tips in FY 2024 were Canada, the United Kingdom, India, Australia, and Germany.
The SEC’s report also highlights the Commission’s enforcement efforts around the whistleblower protection rule Rule 21F17(a) which prohibits companies from impeding individuals from blowing the whistle to the SEC.
“Whistleblowers play a valuable role in helping to protect the U.S. financial markets by bringing the Commission information about potential securities law violations,” said Creola Kelly, Chief of the Office of the Whistleblower. “The Commission sent a strong message that agreements and conduct that impede communication with the SEC will not be tolerated.”
Overall, the SEC Whistleblower Program has now awarded more than $2.2 billion to 444 whistleblowers since it was founded in 2010 with the passage of the Dodd-Frank Act.
Despite the success of the program, whistleblower advocates believe that certain reforms are needed to strengthen the program. National Whistleblower Center has issued an Action Alert allowing individuals to write to Congress calling for the passage of the bipartisan SEC Whistleblower Reform Act.
Join NWC in Taking Action:
Reform the SEC Whistleblower Program