SEC Publishes 2014 Annual Report to Congress on the Dodd-Frank Whistleblower Program- Number of Cases Steadily Rising
18th November 2014
In an effort to provide more transparency around its Dodd-Frank Act whistleblower program, on Tuesday the SEC disclosed the most detailed study of its whistleblowers to date, including the nature of the frauds they reported and their relation to the companies they blew the whistle on. In its 2014 report to Congress, the Office of the Whistleblower published aggregate characteristics about the 14 whistleblowers who thus far have received awards, including the fact that more than 40 percent of them were current or former company employees. According to the report, of those employees, more than 80 percent raised their concerns internally before going to the SEC.
The SEC’s report also revealed that California, New York, Florida, and Texas were the top states from where whistleblower tips originated. California reported over 15% of all tips, which by far amounted to the greatest number of tips from any state. Interestingly, the number of international tips is also on the rise, composed of 11.5% of all tips, with individuals in the UK, India, Canada, China, and Australia contributing the highest number of whistleblower tips in 2014.