The head of the SEC’s Office of the Whistleblower, Sean McKessy, reported on Friday that the increased number of rewards paid out to whistleblowers “reflects the high-quality nature of the tips the SEC is receiving as public awareness of the whistleblower program grows.” To date, the SEC has awarded 31 separate awards totaling $68 million to whistleblowers.
According to the National Whistleblower Center’s President, Michael Kohn, “the number of awards made in the last year in comparison to the more than 4,000 tips received is inadequate. There is no reason why the number of total awards made to whistleblowers is so low when they are made at no cost to taxpayers or harmed investors.” Kohn added that “While the National Whistleblower Center applauds the SEC for taking meaningful steps in the right direction, the small number of awards is a strong indicator that the SEC has yet to devote the kind of resources necessary to maximize enforcement activity tied to whistleblower disclosures.”
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