The SEC announced an award of $30 million to a whistleblower whose report of securities violations led to a successful SEC action and related enforcement actions.  The award is the largest paid to date under the Dodd Frank whistleblower program established in 2010.

According to the SEC, this is the fourth award issued to a whistleblower living outside the U.S.

The SEC determined in issuing the award that when U.S. securities laws are violated:

it makes no difference whether, for example, the claimant was a foreign national, the claimant resides overseas, the information was submitted from overseas, or the misconduct comprising the U.S. securities law violation occurred entirely overseas. We believe this approach best effectuates the clear Congressional purpose underlying the award program, which was to further the effective enforcement of the U.S. securities laws by encouraging individuals with knowledge of violations of these U.S. laws to voluntarily provide that information to the Commission.

According to the award order, the SEC reduced the whistleblower’s award because of failure to promptly report the violations to the SEC–violations the whistleblower was allegedly aware of even before Dodd-Frank was created.  As a result of the whistleblower’s delay, the SEC said, “investors continued to suffer significant monetary injury that otherwise might have been avoided.”

Read the SEC press release, “SEC Announces Largest-Ever Whistleblower Award”

Read the SEC award order