The SEC Just Awarded Someone $279 Million — The Most The Agency Has Ever Paid Out

The Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday announced a staggering whistleblower award totaling nearly $279 million.

What Happened: The award was given to a whistleblower whose information and assistance led to successful enforcement by the SEC and related actions, the SEC said in a press release. 

The $279 million is more than double the $114 million awarded in October 2020 and is the highest award in the SEC's whistleblower program's history.

The SEC whistleblower program was created by the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010. It incentivizes whistleblowers to come forward with accurate information about potential securities law violations.

Read also: Donald Trump Whistleblower Doesn't Regret Decision, Turned Down Potential Millions To Make $16 An Hour At Starbucks

Whistleblowers who provide original, timely, and credible information leading to a successful enforcement action can receive a reward of up to 30% of the money collected by the SEC. The payments to whistleblowers are made out of an investor protection fund, which is financed entirely through monetary sanctions paid to the SEC by securities law violators.

"The size of today’s award – the highest in our program’s history – not only incentivizes whistleblowers to come forward with accurate information about potential securities law violations, but also reflects the tremendous success of our whistleblower program," said Gurbir Grewal, director of the SEC’s Division of Enforcement. 

Since the program's inception, the SEC said it has awarded more than $1.1 billion to whistleblowers.

The whistleblower who received the recent $279-million award provided sustained assistance, including multiple interviews and written submissions, that were critical to the success of the actions taken, the SEC said.

The agency protects the confidentiality of whistleblowers and does not disclose any information that could reveal their identity. Below is a list of the top 10 largest SEC whistleblower payments to date, excluding Friday’s award:

• $114 million (Oct. 22, 2020)
• $110 million (Sept. 15, 2021)
• $50 million (April 15, 2021)
• $50 million (June 4, 2020)
• $50 million (March 19, 2018)
• $39 million (Sept. 6, 2018)
• $37 million (Dec. 19, 2022)
• $37 million (Jan. 21, 2022)
• $37 million (March 26, 2019)
• $36 million (Sept. 24, 2021)

Read next: What Are Digital Assets? Don't Ask The SEC! Definition Gets Scrapped From Final Rules

Photo via Shutterstock.