The SEC recently announced the award of over $28 million to seven individuals who submitted information to the Office of the Whistleblower that led to a successful enforcement action. The first whistleblower received $13 million Four whistleblowers received a joint award of $13 million Two whistleblowers received a joint award…
The SEC has released figures for recovery and returns for the Fiscal Year 2023. The press release details the record high $600 million paid to SEC whistleblowers, and the recovery of nearly $5 billion through a total of 784 enforcement actions, the second highest in history. Actions resulted in nearly…
In our previous post, we reviewed the major provisions of the Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2020 (AMLA), an expansion of the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA). We also started tackling the enforcement priorities of the Department of Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), the agency most responsible for anti-money laundering enforcement.…
On January 1, 2021, overriding a veto by then-President Trump, the Senate passed into law the Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2020 (AMLA)—the largest anti-money laundering legislative effort since the 2001 Patriot Act. The AMLA fortified existing laws, such as the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA), as well as a somewhat anemic…
The rash of cryptocurrency failures, cybersecurity failings, and potential for money laundering are a focus of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) examiners in the coming year. The high-profile FTX case and criminal charges against Sam Bankman-Fried and others have brought the issues to the SEC’s attention. The SEC…
The Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) recently announced the award of $18 million to a single whistleblower who provided substantial assistance to the agency. This information led to a successful CFTC enforcement action as well as a related action with another federal agency. The whistleblower met with Division of Enforcement…
New York-based hedge fund investment and technology development firm D. E. Shaw has settled with the SEC over charges that it violated the rights of current and former employees when it raised “impediments” for them to become whistleblowers. The SEC also fined D. E. Shaw $10M to settle the charges.…
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) announced an award of more than $300,000 to a whistleblower who submitted information to the agency regarding a company’s misconduct. Information from the whistleblower was “precise,” and described exactly the activity involved, leading to the CFTC’s Enforcement Division to open an investigation. The individual…
In a recent press release, the Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) announced $15 million in bounties awarded to two whistleblowers for individual cases. In the first case, a whistleblower affiliated with a company notified the CFTC of activity that was harming its customers. The CFTC opened an investigation and discovered…
The SEC settled charges against CRBE, a Dallas-based commercial real estate services and investment firm, for using a clause in their separation agreements that violated the Securities and Exchange Commission’s whistleblower protection rule. Departing employees could receive separation pay only if they signed a release that stated they had not…