Category: Whistleblowing

At the Society of Corporate Compliance and Ethics (SCCE) 23rd Annual Compliance & Ethics Institute, Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri delivered a keynote speech underscoring the U.S. Department of Justice’s (DOJ) evolving corporate enforcement landscape. Compliance professionals were at the center of her address, emphasizing their critical role in upholding corporate integrity. Argentieri’s speech wasn’t merely a high-level overview of DOJ priorities; it was a call to action for compliance officers and GRC professionals. With the increasing complexity of corporate crimes, driven in part by disruptive technologies like artificial intelligence, the DOJ’s message was clear: robust compliance…

The U.S. Department of Justice’s recently launched whistleblower reward program is drawing both praise and criticism from legal experts in the field. While many welcome the initiative, concerns have emerged about key aspects of the three-year pilot program. Introduced last week, the program offers financial incentives to individuals who provide original information or analysis related to financial crimes, bribery, or healthcare fraud. Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco announced the program in March, aiming to bridge gaps between existing whistleblower programs at other agencies. Legal professionals specializing in whistleblower cases have identified several potential shortcomings in the program’s structure: Funding Uncertainty:…

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has awarded a staggering $98 million to two whistleblowers. The announcement, made on August 23, 2024, underscores the critical role that individuals play in uncovering financial misconduct. The lion’s share of the award—$82 million—went to a whistleblower whose initial tip sparked the investigations and who provided ongoing assistance. A second whistleblower, contributing later but significantly to one aspect of the case, received $16 million. “Without these whistleblowers’ information, the violations would have been difficult to detect,” said Creola Kelly, Chief of the SEC’s Office of the Whistleblower, emphasizing the importance of such cooperation in…

The Securities and Exchange Commission has awarded a whistleblower with $37 million for providing new and critical information that led to the success of an enforcement action. According to the agency’s order, one whistleblower received the regulatory bounty for information and assistance that led the staff to open the investigation into “hard-to-detect violations.” He was the initial source that alerted the SEC to a previously unknown conduct and thereafter provided assistance that helped advance investigations. Specifically, he gave useful information at the earliest stages of the investigation and later provided supplemental information. Committed to protecting the anonymity of informants, neither…

Regulator proposes changes to two amendments adopted during Trump administration that it says could have been used by future commission to reduce awards ‘These amendments, if adopted, would help ensure that whistleblowers are both incentivized and appropriately rewarded for their efforts in reporting potential violations of the law,’ SEC Chairman Gary Gensler said Thursday. The Securities and Exchange Commission said Thursday that it was revising two amendments governing the rules of its whistleblower program to address concerns that they would discourage tipsters from coming forward. The two amendments were adopted in September 2020, during the Trump administration. SEC Chairman Gary…

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission awarded about $114 million in total to two whistleblowers, including one who provided independent analysis to the regulator that helped substantially advance investigations, the SEC said. With the latest awards, the SEC whistleblower program has paid out more than $1 billion to 207 whistleblowers since issuing its first award in 2012, the agency said. That marks a milestone for the SEC whistleblower program created by the 2010 Dodd-Frank Act. The SEC announced the awards Wednesday but didn’t name the cases involving two companies that the awards are connected to and didn’t identify the tipsters,…