/>iThe U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission published its annual report on the Dodd-Frank Whistleblower Program yesterday. The Dodd-Frank Whistleblower Program was created with the passage of the Dodd-Frank Act in 2010 and aims to incentivize whistleblowers to report violations of the securities laws to the SEC.
In 2014, the program was its most active since its inception. Here are some of the highlights of the Commission’s report:
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The Commission issued whistleblower awards to more individuals in fiscal year 2014 than in all previous years combined. Nine of the fourteen awards ever made by the Commission were issued in 2014.
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The Commission issued its largest whistleblower award to date as well. In September, the Commission authorized an award of more than $30 million to a whistleblower who provided key original information that led to a successful enforcement action.
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Whistleblowers who received awards in prior years were awarded additional payments in 2014 as the Commission’s collection efforts paid off.
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The Commission brought its first enforcement action under the anti-retaliation provision of the Dodd-Frank Act. The Commission ordered the firm to pay $2.2 million to settle the retaliation and other charges.
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The agency received an increasing number of whistleblower tips. In fiscal Year 2014, there was more than a 20% increase in the number of whistleblower tips.
