CFTC whistleblower awarded payout of more than $6M

CFTC's Whistleblower program has granted over $110M since 2014

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission has awarded more than $6 million to a whistleblower who voluntarily provided "specific, credible and timely" information that led to a successful enforcement action, according to the agency.

“This award — together with the many that have preceded it — shows that in its short history, the Commission’s Whistleblower Program has significantly strengthened our enforcement program,” CFTC Director of Enforcement James McDonald said in Tuesday's announcement. “We are very grateful for the value that whistleblowers have added to our investigations and litigations.”

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Whistleblower Office Director Christopher Ehrman added that the award “should signal to potential whistleblowers that there are real financial incentives to promptly reporting violations to the CFTC.”

Whistleblowers are eligible to receive between 10 and 30 percent of the monetary sanctions collected by the CFTC Customer Protection Fund, which was established by Congress and financed entirely by violators of the CEA. No money is taken or withheld from injured customers to fund the program.

In addition to awards related to the agency’s enforcement actions, the CFTC grants awards for actions brought by other domestic or foreign regulators if certain conditions are met.

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The CFTC’s Whistleblower Program was created under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010.

Since issuing its first award in 2014, the program has granted over $110 million to whistleblowers and has led to more than $800 million in monetary relief for consumers.

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Under the Commodity Exchange Act, a whistleblower's identity remains confidential, regardless of whether the CFTC grants an award, and the agency will not disclose the name of an enforcement action in which the whistleblower provided information or the exact dollar amount of the award granted.

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