SEC Awards Half-Million Dollars to Overseas Whistleblower

The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced a half-million dollar award to an overseas whistleblower whose expeditious reporting helped the Commission bring a successful enforcement action. “The Commission’s whistleblower award program has reached an important milestone,” said Jane Norberg, Chief of the SEC’s Office of the Whistleblower. “With recent actions, more than $2 billion in monetary sanctions have been ordered against wrongdoers based on actionable information received by whistleblowers. This represents the direct and important role that whistleblowers, like the overseas whistleblower being awarded today, have in enforcement actions and the protection of investors.” The SEC has awarded approximately $385 million to 65 individuals since issuing its first award in 2012. All payments are made out of an investor protection fund established by Congress that is financed entirely through monetary sanctions paid to the SEC by securities law violators.