With the official launch of its Whistleblower office on Friday, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) also launched a webpage that allows individuals to report a violation of the federal securities laws and apply for a financial award.
The SEC created the Whistleblower office after Dodd-Frank mandated that the SEC pay rewards to individuals who voluntarily provide the commission with original information that leads to successful SEC enforcement actions. The SEC finalized its whistleblower rules in May.
The whistleblower program provides a monetary incentive of between 10% and 30% of sanctions the SEC collects for whistleblowers who voluntarily provide the agency with original information that leads to a successful SEC action with sanctions exceeding $1 million.
Sean McKessy, head of the whistleblower office, said during a speech the day of the office’s official launch that the SEC has already seen “an increase in the quality of the tips the agency has received” since passage of Dodd-Frank last July.