The SEC announced that it has revamped its investigative procedures, starting with a $21 million “Tips, Complaints and Referrals” database and a new, FBI-partnered Office of Market Intelligence.

Previously sent via phone, e-mail, fax or letter, tips can now be entered into the TCR Database, which is accessible to 2,300 SEC employees. Additionally, the new Office of Market Intelligence has entered into an unprecedented agreement with the FBI. Embedded within the SEC body, a bureau agent is able to contribute expertise and information. These moves are not only a response to the criticism after the Madoff fraud, but also to the recent exponential rise in the complexity and frequency of financial crimes.

Though promising, the new programs do have limits. The TCR Database cannot yet perform advanced cross-referencing or analysis. Still, given early successes and the May finalization of rules for an SEC whistleblower program, the TCR Database and one-of-a kind FBI partnership are likely to expand. Already, the FBI’s economics crime unit reports that the bureau had 41 percent more active securities and commodities fraud investigations in 2010 than in 2008. And over the past year, monetary penalties imposed by the SEC on wrongdoers have almost tripled.

Read the entire article, “Exclusive: SEC builds new tips machine to catch the next Madoff”