On August 23, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) granted whistleblower awards totaling more than $98 million to two whistleblowers who voluntarily provided the agency with original information that led to a successful enforcement action by the SEC as well as related enforcement actions by another agency.

One of the whistleblowers was awarded $82 million, the fourth largest individual award in the history of the SEC Whistleblower Program.

Through the SEC Whistleblower Program, qualified whistleblowers are eligible to receive awards of between 10-30% of the sanctions collected in the enforcement action which was aided by their disclosure. The program’s related action provisions also enable whistleblowers to collect awards when their information is additionally used by other agencies in successful enforcement actions. Related action awards are likewise for 10-30% of the sanctions collected in the actions.

According to the SEC, the whistleblower who received the $82 million award provided information which was “highly significant in that it alerted Commission staff to the underlying conduct prompting the opening of the investigation.” This whistleblower also “provided substantial, continuing assistance, including meeting with Commission staff multiple times and providing additional helpful submissions,” according to the award order.

The second whistleblower was awarded $16 million. According to the SEC, this whistleblower’s information “was provided later” but “significantly contributed to one aspect of the actions.”

“Whistleblower information and cooperation play an integral role in the SEC’s enforcement efforts,” said Creola Kelly, Chief of the SEC’s Office of the Whistleblower. “Without these whistleblowers’ information, the violations would have been difficult to detect.”

Overall, the SEC Whistleblower Program has now awarded more than $2 billion to qualified whistleblowers since it was established with the passage of the Dodd-Frank Act in 2010. 

The program has continued to grow in recent years. In Fiscal Year 2023, the program received a record 18,000 whistleblower tips.

Whistleblowers looking to blow the whistle on securities fraud may do so anonymously, but must be represented by a whistleblower attorney.

Geoff Schweller also contributed to this article.