An overseas whistleblower has received nearly $4 million from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), after tipping off the agency to misconduct that sparked an investigation, the SEC announced Tuesday.
The anonymous tipster furnished “extensive assistance,” the commission says in a news release, which helped the SEC bring a successful enforcement action in the case.
“Whistleblowers, whether they are located in the U.S. or abroad, provide a valuable service to investors and help us stop wrongdoing,” says Jane Norberg, chief of the SEC’s Office of the Whistleblower, in a statement. “This award recognizes the continued, important assistance provided by the whistleblower throughout the course of the investigation.”
The SEC does not reveal the details of its whistleblower cases in order to protect the identity of tipsters. While it did not disclose the origin of the tip in this case, Canada has consistently been one of the top sources of foreign tips to the SEC whistleblower program. In 2017, Canada ranked second only to the United Kingdom as a source of tips to the SEC.
To date, the SEC has awarded over US$326 million to 59 individuals under its whistleblower program, which issued its first award in 2012. More than US$1.7 billion in monetary sanctions has been ordered against violators based on information provided by whistleblowers, the SEC says.