___________________________________________________________________ 

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 

Before the 

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION 

SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 

Release No. 97879 / July 12, 2023 

WHISTLEBLOWER AWARD PROCEEDING 

File No. 2023-74 

_________________________________________________________________ 

In the Matter of the Claim for Award 

in connection with 

Redacted Redacted ***

Notice of Covered Action 

Redacted

ORDER DETERMINING WHISTLEBLOWER AWARD CLAIM 

Redacted

The Claims Review Staff (“CRS”) issued a Preliminary Determination recommending ***

that 

( 

***

(“Claimant”) receive a whistleblower award in the amount of percent 

%) of the monetary sanctions collected in the above-referenced Covered Action (the 

“Covered Action”), which would result in a payment of over $9 million.1 Claimant provided 

1 Claimant was a 

Redacted

 at the time Claimant obtained the information. As a result, the CRS considered 

whether Claimant’s information was “original information”. Under Rule 21F-4(b)(1), “[i]n order for [a] 

whistleblower submission to be considered original information, it must,” among other requirements, be “[d]erived 

from [the whistleblower’s] independent knowledge or independent analysis.” 17 C.F.R. § 240.21F-4(b)(1). In turn, 

Rule 21F-4(b)(4)(iii)(B) provides that, unless an exception applies, “[t]he Commission will not consider information 

to be derived from [a whistleblower’s] independent knowledge or independent analysis” if the whistleblower 

“obtained the information because” the whistleblower was “[a]n employee whose principal duties involve 

compliance or internal audit responsibilities,” 17 C.F.R. § 240.21F-4(b)(4)(iii)(B). The CRS preliminarily 

determined that Rule 21F-4(b)(4)(iii)(B) did not apply here to disqualify Claimant’s information from treatment as 

original information pursuant to the 120-day exception in Rule 21F-4(b)(4)(v)(C), 17 C.F.R. § 240.21F-4(b)(4)(v) 

(C), because Claimant reported the information internally to his/her supervisor and then waited at least 120 days to 

report the information to the Commission. 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

written notice stating that Claimant will not contest the Preliminary Determination. 

The recommendation of the CRS is adopted. The record demonstrates that Claimant 

voluntarily provided original information to the Commission that led to the successful 

enforcement of the Covered Action.2

In determining the amount of award to recommend for the Claimant, we considered the 

following factors set forth in Rule 21F-6 of the Exchange Act as they apply to the facts and 

circumstances of the Claimant’s application: (1) the significance of information provided to the 

Commission; (2) the assistance provided in the Covered Action; (3) the law enforcement interest 

in deterring violations by granting awards; (4) participation in internal compliance systems; (5) 

culpability; (6) unreasonable reporting delay; and (7) interference with internal compliance and 

reporting systems. 

In making this preliminary recommendation, we considered, among other things, that the 

Claimant provided highly significant and detailed information that alerted Enforcement staff to 

the underlying conduct, prompting the opening of the investigation; his/her information bears a 

close nexus to the charges brought by the Commission in the Covered Action; he/she provided 

critical and ongoing assistance throughout the investigation, including meeting with Enforcement 

staff multiple times; Claimant repeatedly raised concerns internally; and that millions of dollars 

have been returned to harmed investors as a result of the Claimant’s information and assistance. 

Accordingly, it is hereby ORDERED that Claimant shall receive an award of 

percent ( ***%) of the monetary sanctions collected in the Covered Action. 

***

By the Commission. 

Vanessa A. Countryman 

Secretary 

2 See Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (“Exchange Act”) Section 21F(b)(1), 15 U.S.C. § 78u-6(b)(1); Exchange Act 

Rule 21F-3(a), 17 C.F.R. § 240.21F-3(a).