A check for $375 million. That’s the hefty sum a whistleblower just received from the Watchtower of America’s Financial Markets for helping him recover more than $5.4 billion.
“Today’s amount — the largest in the history of our program — not only inspires whistleblowers to provide accurate information about potential violations of securities laws, but also reflects the tremendous success of our whistleblower program,” said Gurbir S. Grewal, Director of the Securities and the Enforcement Division of the Exchange Commission (SEC).
It is not known who it is and which company it is.
In Quebec, the Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF) does not offer a reward in its whistleblower program, instead promising confidentiality and immunity from civil lawsuits.
In Ontario, the Watchdog has paid out more than $9.3 million over the past seven years, reports Finance et Investissement. This valuable information allowed him to raise more than $48 million, they say.
More than $5.4 billion was recovered
In the United States, in the case of the historic $375 million reward, the SEC claims it managed to repay no less than $5.4 billion in “illegitimate profits and interest.”
“Although the whistleblower’s information did not lead to the opening of the Commission’s investigation, their information broadened the scope of the alleged wrongdoing,” the SEC concludes.
With our neighbors to the south, an unknown person with credible information can receive anywhere from 10% to 30% of the money collected.
According to Claude Mathieu, full professor at the School of Management at the University of Sherbrooke, responsible for the diploma in the fight against financial crime, the question of whether or not rewards are given to whistleblowers is debated here as elsewhere.
Provided by the University of Sherbrooke
Claude Mathieu
“In the UK, the English authorities have decided not to pay compensation. According to them, the quality of the files and reports does not alter the denunciations, compensation or not,” he notes.
He adds that this debate has long existed in the United States and that people are sometimes criticized for paying large sums to a few people when those sums could be used elsewhere.
“Most important, in my opinion, is the accompaniment and support offered to whistleblowers, including legal and psychological support,” concludes the man who is organizing a May 11 conference on the warning signs of crime.
-With Agence France-Presse