CFTC – Whistleblower Program

CFTC - Whistleblower Program
CFTC – Whistleblower Program

CFTC, a.k.a.  Commodity Futures Trading Commission, offers the Whistleblower Program to assist with enforcement

The CFTC’s Whistleblower Program was created under Section 748 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010.  Since issuing its first award in 2014, the CFTC has awarded approximately $120 million to whistleblowers.  CFTC’s actions associated with those awards have resulted in monetary relief totaling nearly $950 million.  The CFTC issues awards related to the agency’s enforcement actions and in connection with actions brought by other domestic or foreign regulators if certain conditions are met.

The Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) provides confidentiality protections for whistleblowers.  Accordingly, whether the CFTC grants an award, the CFTC will not disclose any information that could reasonably be expected to reveal a whistleblower’s identity, except in limited circumstances.  Consistent with this confidentiality protection, the CFTC will not disclose the name of the enforcement action in which the whistleblower provided information or the exact dollar amount of the award granted.

Whistleblowers can receive between 10 and 30 percent of the monetary sanctions collected.  All whistleblower awards are paid from the CFTC Customer Protection Fund, which Congress established, and are financed entirely through financial sanctions paid to the CFTC by violators of the CEA.  No money is taken or withheld from injured customers to fund the program.

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