The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Office of the Whistleblower Annual Report to Congress for Fiscal Year 2024 details a record fiscal year for the hugely successful SEC Whistleblower Program. During FY 2024, the SEC Whistleblower Program received a record 24,980 whistleblower tips and awarded over $255 million, the third highest annual amount.

“The SEC Office of the Whistleblower’s Annual Report to Congress demonstrates once again that the whistleblower program is a crown jewel of the agency and a cornerstone of its enforcement efforts” said Andrew Feller, co-Chair of Kohn, Kohn & Colapinto’s Securities and Commodities Whistleblower Group. “We commend the Office of the Whistleblower for the steps it’s taken to ensure the protection of whistleblowers from retaliation, and to continue its welcome efforts to increase the efficiency of awards processing.”

Established in 2010 with the passage of the Dodd-Frank Act, the SEC Whistleblower Program has now awarded a total of more than $2.2 billion to 444 individuals. Under the program, whistleblowers may anonymously report securities violations and qualified whistleblowers are eligible to receive monetary awards of 10-30% of the sanctions collected in an enforcement action aided by their disclosure.

“The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s Whistleblower Program (Program) had another strong year, working to fulfill its mission to protect investors by administering an efficient program that is responsive to whistleblower needs and helps the Commission identify and stop securities law violations,” the report states.

The SEC Whistleblower Office FY 2024 report details some of the fiscal year’s notable whistleblower awards as well as the main topics covered in whistleblower disclosures. According to the report, the most common fraud areas reported by whistleblowers were Manipulation (37%), Offering Fraud (21%), Initial Coin Offerings and Crypto Asset Securities (8%), and Corporate Disclosures and Financials (8%).

The report further highlights the agency’s multiple enforcement actions in FY 2024 enforcing Rule 21F17(a), which prohibits companies from taking any action to impede the ability of individuals to blow the whistle to the SEC. 

“Whistleblowers play a valuable role in helping to protect the U.S. financial markets by bringing the Commission information about potential securities law violations,” said Creola Kelly, Chief of the Office of the Whistleblower. “The Commission sent a strong message that agreements and conduct that impede communication with the SEC will not be tolerated.”