SEC Announces $4 Million Award to Overseas Whistleblower

We have said it before, and we will say it again:  the SEC Whistleblower Program offers monetary rewards to non-U.S. citizens.  Today’s announcement from the SEC of a $4 million award to an unidentified “overseas whistleblower” demonstrates this.  According to the SEC, the anonymous whistleblower’s tip caused the SEC to open an investigation.  The $4 million award “recognizes the continued, important assistance provided by the whistleblower throughout the course of the investigation.”

The SEC is serious about ensuring anonymity for those whistleblowers who request it, and its announcement did not identify the whistleblower, the company involved, or the nature of the wrongdoing.

The SEC Whistleblower Program pays rewards that can range from 10 percent to 30 percent of the money collected by the SEC from the wrongdoer when the monetary sanctions exceed $1 million.  The $4 million received by the anonymous whistleblower here suggests that the SEC collected an amount between $13 million and $40 million from the subject of the investigation, although the actual amount is unknown.  In determining the award percentage, the SEC considers factors such as the significance of the whistleblower’s information and the extent of the whistleblower’s assistance.  Here, the whistleblower’s “continued, important assistance” during the investigation may have played a role in a larger reward for the whistleblower.

If you have information about fraudulent activity that may give rise to a whistleblower claim, please contact us. Constantine Cannon has the largest whistleblower practice outside of the United States. Launched in 2017, we are the only firm with a dedicated team of whistleblowing attorneys based in London. Together with our teams in San Francisco, Washington, D.C. and New York, Constantine Cannon is able to represent international whistleblowers from any country.

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• SEC Report Shows a Significant Number of Tips Coming From UK Whistleblowers
• United States Rewards International Whistleblowers for Help in Uncovering Fraud

Read more:

• I think I have a whistleblower claim
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