SEC Enforcement Director Describes "Transformative Impact" Of Whistleblower Program

SEC Enforcement Director Andrew Ceresney asserted that the SEC Whistleblower Program has had a "transformative impact . . . both in terms of the detection of illegal conduct and in moving . . . investigations forward quicker and through the use of fewer resources."

In a speech before the Sixteenth Annual Conference of Taxpayers against Fraud in Washington, Mr. Ceresney emphasized the importance of the Whistleblower Program to enforcement actions. Since inception, the program:

• handled more than 14,000 tips from whistleblowers in every state in America, and in over 95 foreign countries;
• received an increasing number of tips from whistleblowers: 3,001 in fiscal year 2012 – the first full fiscal year in which the program became operational – and nearly 4,000 last year, an upsurge of approximately 30%;