Who’s behind all these disclosures of potentially illegal or illicit business activity? The SEC's annual whistleblower report provided some clues.
The number of new enforcement actions fell 17% this year but the SEC opened more than 150 COVID-related inquiries and investigations.
The commission recognized “the importance of paying awards to whistleblowers and the invaluable contributions whistleblowers make to protecting investors."
Proposed amendments to the rules would give commissioners more discretion over the size of whistleblower awards; some say they could undercut the program.
The recent Supreme Court whistleblower ruling is a devastating blow to defenses against corporate fraud, says an architect of the SEC whistleblower program.
The SEC broke records for single-year enforcement actions filed and total dollars gained from forfeitures.
The $700,000 award is the first to a company outsider, illustrating the broad scope of the SEC's whistleblower program.
The SEC is investigating any attempts by companies to muzzle would-be whistleblowers, including requiring them to forgo Dodd-Frank bounties.
