Whistleblower helped CFTC and other agencies with multiple enforcement efforts.
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) reports that it recently rewarded an insider whistleblower with more than $8 million for providing “significant information and assistance that led the CFTC and other agencies to bring multiple enforcement actions.”
In fact, the whistleblower “helped the CFTC establish that one or more derivatives market participants deceived clients about key aspects of trades,” according to the CFTC.
“This is an important whistleblower whose information led multiple regulators to bring multiple enforcement actions,” says Ian McGinley, director of enforcement for the CFTC. “The whistleblower’s assistance enabled the CFTC and other agencies to more efficiently investigate and prosecute the misconduct.”
The whistleblower’s direct evidence was “of not only the whistleblower’s own intent in the relevant transactions, but also the whistleblower’s knowledge and observations about clients, co-workers, and senior leadership at the liable entity or entities. This ultimately saved substantial time and resources for staff and resulted in a far stronger and more triable case in the event of litigation,” according to the CFTC.
“Based on the whistleblower’s involvement in the underlying conduct, the whistleblower provided extremely valuable insider information at a critical time during the investigations,” according to Brian Young, director of the Whistleblower Office at the CFTC.
Nina Liao, an attorney advisor for the CFTC’s Whistleblower Office, handled this whistleblower award, officials add.
The Whistleblower Program, created via the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010, issued its first award in 2014. Since then, the CFTC has paid out approximately $380 million in whistleblower awards.
“Those awards are associated with enforcement actions that have resulted in monetary sanctions totaling more than $3.2 billion,” the CFTC adds.
The Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) provides confidentiality protections for whistleblowers. “Anyone with information related to potential violations of the CEA or the CFTC’s rules and regulations can submit a tip electronically by filing a Form TCR (Tip, Complaint or Referral) online,” officials say.
More information about the CFTC’s program is available here: https://www.whistleblower.gov/
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