Corporate Governance

Calling All Whistleblowers

By Fei-Lu Qian

With the passage of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, the SEC has voted unanimously to propose a whistleblower program that is simple and straightforward to reward individuals who provide the agency with high-quality tips that lead to successful enforcement actions.

To be considered for an award, a whistleblower must voluntarily provide the SEC with original information about a violation of the federal securities laws that leads to the successful enforcement by the SEC of a federal court or administrative action in which the SEC obtains monetary sanctions totaling more than $1 million.

?We get thousands of tips every year, yet very few of these tips come from those closest to an ongoing fraud,? said SEC Chairman Mary L. Schapiro. ?Whistleblowers can be a source of valuable firsthand information that may otherwise not come to light. These high-quality leads can be crucial to protecting investors and recovering ill-gotten gains from wrongdoers.?

Full post as published by PomTalk on November 12, 2010 (boomark / email).