User:Sa 3003/sandbox
---Drafting Up a Version of the CFTC Whistleblower Page---
CFTC Whistleblower Program
Agency overview | |
---|---|
Formed | 2010 |
Jurisdiction | Federal government of the United States |
Headquarters | Washington, D.C. |
Parent agency | Commodity Futures Trading Commission |
Website | www |
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission's Whistleblower Program was created with the 2010 passage of the Dodd-Frank Act. The program rewards individuals who report possible Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) violations. The program also extends anti-retaliation protections for whistleblowers who file claims.[1]
Whistleblowers who voluntarily report Commodity Exchange Act violations and whose information leads to a successful enforcement action that result in monetary sanctions exceeding $1,000,000. Awards to whistleblowers are paid out of the Congress-established CFTC Consumer Protection Fund. The Fund is financed by money seized by individuals who violated the Commodity Exchange Act.[2] As of October 2021, the CFTC Whistleblower Program has awarded $300 million in whistleblower awards since it issued the first award in 2014.[3]
History and Operations
The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Act was passed in 2010 after the 2008 Great Recession. The Act aimed to reinforce financial regulation and empower the CFTC's authority to oversee the swaps market.[4] The Dodd-Frank Act amended the Commodity Exchange Act's with adding Section 23, named the "Commodity Whistleblower Incentives and Protection."[1] Section 23 and the rules and regulations the CFTC has issued to implement the section's provisions govern the Whistleblower Program.[5] The section also sets out the rules and procedures prospective whistleblowers must follow to obtain an award. The Whistleblower Rules went into effect in October of 2011 and were amended in July of 2017.[1]
According to the CFTC's 2021 annual report to Congress, the agency doled out 6 whistleblower awards that totaled over $3 million in the 2020 fiscal year, which ranged from October 1, 2020 through September 30, 2021.[6] During the 2021 fiscal year, the CTFC Whistleblower Program issued 65 Final Orders addressing 74 whistleblower award applications and noted that numerous award recipients first made their disclosures to other agencies like the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.[7]
All CFTC whistleblower awards are paid out of the Customer Protection Fund.
Whistleblower Protections
The CFTC provides confidentiality and anti-retaliation protections to whistleblowers.[8]
Notable Awards
Date | Award Amount | Description |
---|---|---|
5/20/2014 | $240,000 | First whistleblower award given out by the CFTC, provided "valuable information about violations of the Commodity Exchange Act."[9] |
4/4/2016 | More than $10 million | Award for the "key original information" they provided.[10] |
7/12/2018 | $30 million | Received award for their original information they provided to the agency.[11] |
7/16/2018 | Over $70,000 | First CFTC whistleblower award to a foreign whistleblower.[12] |
8/2/2018 | More $45 million | Multiple whistleblowers received this award.[13] |
9/27/2019 | $7 million | The whistleblower's disclosure led to the agency finding a CEA violation.[14] |
6/9/2020 | More than $6 million | The whistleblower provided "specific, credible and timely" information to the agency.[15] |
7/27/2020 | $9 million | Received this award for their disclosures.[16] |
10/21/2021 | Nearly $200 million | The whistleblower's disclosures led to an enforcement action at the CFTC as well as actions by another U.S. regulator and a foreign regulator.[17] This is the largest award to a single whistleblower in the program's history.[18] |
Filing a Whistleblower Complaint
Prospective CFTC whistleblowers should submit a Form TCR (Tip, Complaint, or Referral) after they identify a potential Commodity Exchange Act violation and they understand the anti-retaliation and confidentiality protections that the Whistleblower Rules offer.[19] The CFTC Whistleblower Office will then confirm receipt in writing of the Form TCR and provide a confirmation number. The webpage states that because investigations are confidential, someone who submitted a Form TCR should not expect to receive updates on their complaint's status from the Whistleblower Office.[19]
There are detailed requirements for prospective whistleblowers who want to make their disclosures anonymously.[19] Whistleblowers can file anonymously with or without legal counsel; if a whistleblower who wishes to remain anonymous uses an attorney, the attorney can file the Form TCR to the CFTC on behalf of the whistleblower. However, when the agency decides to make a whistleblower award payment, the CFTC can require the whistleblower's attorney to confirm the whistleblower's identity.[20]
References
- ^ a b c "Program Overview". Commodity Futures Trading Commission Whistleblower Program. Retrieved 29 October 2021.
- ^ "Frequently Asked Questions". Commodity Futures Trading Commission Whistleblower Program. Retrieved 29 October 2021.
- ^ "The Whistleblower Program". Commodity Futures Trading Commission Whistleblower Program. Retrieved 4 November 2021.
- ^ "Dodd-Frank Act". Commodity Futures Trading Commission. Retrieved 1 November 2021.
- ^ "Commodity whistleblower incentives and protection" (PDF). Retrieved 5 November 2021.
- ^ "Whistleblower Program Customer Education Initiatives" (PDF). Retrieved 5 November 2021.
- ^ "CFTC Whistleblower Program Details 2021 Fiscal Year in Annual Report". Retrieved 4 November 2021.
- ^ "WHISTLEBLOWER PROTECTIONS". Retrieved 4 November 2021.
- ^ "CFTC Issues First Whistleblower Award". Commodity Futures Trading Commission. Retrieved 4 November 2021.
- ^ "CFTC Announces Whistleblower Award of More Than $10 Million". Commodity Futures Trading Commission. Retrieved 4 November 2021.
- ^ "CFTC Announces Its Largest Ever Whistleblower Award of Approximately $30 Million". Retrieved 4 November 2021.
- ^ "CFTC Announces First Whistleblower Award to a Foreign Whistleblower". Commodity Futures Trading Commission. Retrieved 4 November 2021.
- ^ "CFTC Announces Multiple Whistleblower Awards Totaling More than $45 Million". Commodity Futures Trading Commission. Retrieved 4 November 2021.
- ^ "CFTC Announces Approximately $7 Million Whistleblower Award". Commodity Futures Trading Commission. Retrieved 4 November 2021.
- ^ "CFTC Announces $6 Million Whistleblower Award". Commodity Futures Trading Commission. Retrieved 4 November 2021.
- ^ "CFTC Awards Approximately $9 Million to Whistleblower". Commodity Futures Trading Commission. Retrieved 4 November 2021.
- ^ "CFTC Awards Nearly $200 Million to a Whistleblower". Commodity Futures Trading Commission. Retrieved 4 November 2021.
- ^ Popovich, Ana. "CFTC Awards Whistleblower Almost $200 Million". Whistleblower Network News. Retrieved 4 November 2021.
- ^ a b c "SUBMIT A TIP". Commodity Futures Trading Commission Whistleblower Program. Retrieved 29 October 2021.
- ^ "Reporting Anonymously As A CFTC Whistleblower". Kohn, Kohn and Colapinto LLP. Retrieved 4 November 2021.