The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced its fourth largest whistleblower award at $104 million, and yet another number stood out to me more: 11.
That was the amount of claimants that came forward to the SEC seeking a share of the award, according to the agency’s order released Friday. The bounty was ultimately split among seven whistleblowers, but the fact nearly a dozen individuals contacted the SEC seeking to provide information related to one action should be notable to companies regarding the stakes of the current whistleblower landscape.
Whistleblowers are rarely motivated by money—we’ve heard this before—but it’s hard to ignore when one person receives a life-changing award for coming forward, as was the case earlier this year when the SEC announced a $279 million bounty. Indeed, the agency is being sued by at least one of the two claimants denied a share of that record-shattering award.
In the limited details made available by the SEC regarding its latest payout, you can discern a level of diversity among the claimants. There were two sets of joint whistleblowers and three individuals that received awards for “providing documents supporting the allegations of misconduct, sitting for interviews, and identifying potential witnesses,” according to the agency. One of the denied claimants was a foreign lawyer working for a subsidiary, while another claimed to be the “lead/organizing whistleblower” but was cheated by their attorney.
Most of the facts of the case are redacted to protect the anonymity of the whistleblowers, but you don’t need much more to understand the variety of moving parts at play—all seeking to inform the SEC regarding alleged violations of law by an entity or entities.
Data has shown whistleblowers feel more emboldened than ever to come forward, but companies should also note those same individuals are more incentivized than ever because of successful award programs like the SEC’s. The onus is on businesses to foster a speak-up culture that promotes internal reporting—or else, they can bet employees won’t hesitate to report to regulators. And it won’t just be one person.
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