In April, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commissoin (CFTC) announced its largest whistleblower award yet: a sum of more than $10 million to a person whose information led to major enforcement action by the agency.
The Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) has been the big name in whistleblower actions over the last few years, while the CFTC has been more on the backburner. Prior to this major award, it had only handed out two, much smaller awards to whistleblowers, one in each 2014 and 2015. Those awards were worth $240,000 and $290,000, respectively.
With this announcement, the CFTC staked its claim as a major player in the realm of whistleblower awards and protections.
The agency focuses on regulating futures and option markets. Its program was also created under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010, and features many of the same elements as the SEC’s program. For example, whistleblowers could receive between 10 and 30 percent of the amount of money the agency collects on successful enforcement actions worth more than $1 million.
The SEC, however, has been the go-to source for whistleblower complaints. The largest SEC whistleblower award handed out so far was a $30 million sum in 2014.
This latest CFTC award is evidence that its program works just as effectively as the SEC to safeguard against corporate wrongdoing and award whistleblowers. As a result, the CFTC will likely be seen as even more of a legitimate option moving forward for bringing whistleblower actions.
If you would like to learn more about how to respond to a whistleblower complaint within your company, speak with a skilled Dallas attorney at Whistleblower Law for Managers.
