The SEC whistleblower program exists to award eligible whistleblowers who avail original information that facilitates successful enforcement of SEC actions where total civil penalties surpass $1 million. As far as the eligibility for the program is concerned, any individual or group, irrespective of their citizenship, may participate in the SEC Whistleblower program – with a few qualifications and exclusions attached.

Usually, a whistleblower receives an award worth 10-30% of the monetary sanctions gathered in both the actions brought by the SEC and the related actions emanating from other regulatory and law enforcement bodies. The Congress approved the provisions of the whistleblower reward in the ‘Dodd-Frank Act’ to encourage individuals with useful insider knowledge to voluntarily come out and help the government to hand-pick and prosecute people who have breached securities laws, besides recovering money for persons who have suffered financial fraud.…