2024 was a hugely consequential year for the whistleblowing landscape, with major developments including the creation of a new whistleblower program, historic enforcement actions protecting whistleblower rights, and the release of a landmark report calling for the expansion of whistleblower awards.
Here are five major whistleblower stories from 2024:
DOJ Launches Whistleblower Award Program
In August, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) unveiled its first ever whistleblower award program, offering monetary incentives to individuals who voluntarily report corporate misconduct not covered under existing whistleblower programs.
While advocates applauded the DOJ’s desire to award and protect whistleblowers, they heavily criticized the particulars of the program, including its discretionary awards and lack of coverage for culpable whistleblowers. Since the program went into effect, it has generated hundreds of tips according to DOJ officials.
SEC, CFTC Crack Down on Restrictive NDAs
Over the course of 2024, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) brought forth a number of enforcement actions over violations of Rule 21F-17(a), which prohibits companies from taking any action which impedes the ability of an individual to blow the whistle to the SEC. In January, the SEC fined J.P. Morgan $18 million for Rule 21F-17(a) violations, the largest ever penalty for such violations.
“The Commission sent a strong message that agreements and conduct that impede communication with the SEC will not be tolerated,” Creola Kelly, Chief of the Office of the Whistleblower, said in the SEC Whistleblower Program’s Annual Report for Fiscal Year 2024.
In June, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) sanctioned Trafigura for using agreements which impeded the ability of individuals to blow the whistle, the first ever enforcement action by the CFTC in such a matter.
Increased Calls for Whistleblower Awards in the UK
In December, the prestigious UK think tank the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) released a report calling for a whistleblower award program in the UK. The RUSI report examines the successes of U.S. whistleblower award programs and states that the United Kingdom should end its “long-held antipathy” towards paying whistleblowers because such a program could play a “pivotal role” in reducing white-collar offences.
The RUSI report backs up repeated calls for whistleblower awards in the UK by Nick Ephgrave, Director of the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) “I think we should pay whistleblowers,” Ephgrave said in February.
AML Whistleblower Program Gains Steam
In 2024, the Anti-Money Laundering and Sanctions Whistleblower Program, which was reformed into an effective program in the final days of 2022, began to pick up steam and generate hundreds of tips on money laundering and sanctions violations.
In May, Andrea Gacki, Director of the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) reported the program has “received over 270 unique tips” and “many of the tips received have been highly relevant to many of Treasury’s top priorities.”
“This program holds tremendous potential as an enforcement force-multiplier,” Gacki stated. “Whistleblowers have submitted information relating to some of the most pressing policy objectives of the United States, from Iran- and Russia-related sanctions evasion to drug-trafficking to cyber-crimes and corruption.”
NHTSA Finalizes Rules for Auto Safety Whistleblower Program
On December 12, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) published final rules for its Auto Safety Whistleblower Program, over eight years after a Congressionally-set deadline to do so.
Advocates viewed the rulemaking as an important step forward, as it clarifies the procedures for blowing the whistle on auto safety issues, but criticized elements of the rules which strayed from best practices found in other successful award programs.
