On June 9, 2020, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) announced a $6 million whistleblower award to an individual under its Dodd-Frank whistleblower program. The individual was rewarded for voluntarily providing specific, credible, and timely information that led the CFTC to bring a successful enforcement action.
The Director of the Whistleblower Office, Christopher Ehrman, said in the press release that the award reflects the impact of whistleblowers on the Agency’s enforcement program, noting “whistleblowers have led the CFTC to obtain nearly $900 million in monetary relief.” The Director added that “sizeable awards like this one should signal to potential whistleblowers that there are real financial incentives to promptly reporting violations to the CFTC.”
This is the CFTC’s second award of 2020, and the largest so far this year. A $2 million award was issued last month to four whistleblowers who provided a tip containing “synthesized information that highlighted the economic impact of the suspicious activity they identified,” as well as ongoing assistance during the CFTC’s invesgitation. Per usual practice, the Agency did not provide details about the whistleblower or the information that led to the enforcement action.