US Securities and Exchange Commission issued 2013 Annual Report to Congress on the Dodd-Frank Whistleblower Program (the “Annual Report”).  Under the program, individuals who voluntarily provide the SEC with original information that leads to a successful enforcement action with sanctions over US$ 1 million may be eligible for an award of 10% to 30% of the money collected by the SEC or other enforcement agencies. 

The SEC has now received 6,573 tips and complaints since the whistleblower program started in August 2011, the Annual Report said.  In Fiscal Year 2013, 3,238 whistleblower TCRs (short for “Tips, Complaints, and Referrals”) were received, 52 of which are from China.

The most common complaint categories reported by whistleblowers in the 2013 fiscal year were Corporate Disclosures and Financials (17.2%), Offering Fraud (17.1%), and Manipulation (16.2%).  By comparison, in Fiscal Year 2012, the most common complaint categories reported by whistleblowers also were Corporate Disclosures and Financials (18.2%), Offering Fraud (15.5%), and Manipulation (15.2%).

Since the inception of the Commission’s whistleblower program in August 2011, the Commission has granted awards to six whistleblowers, with four whistleblowers receiving awards in Fiscal Year 2013.  In each instance, the whistleblower provided high-quality original information that allowed the Commission to more quickly unearth and investigate the securities law violation, thereby better protecting investors from further financial injury and helping to conserve limited agency resources.

In September of 2013, the SEC awarded over $14 million to a whistleblower whose information helped the government recover investor funds. It was the biggest award to date under the SEC's program, mandated by the Dodd-Frank Wall Street reform law.

You may follow the link for this Annual Report.