The CFTC Issues First-Of-Its-Kind Whistleblower Award To Control Function Insider

The Commodity Exchange Act ("CEA") generally requires the Commodity Futures Trading Commission ("CFTC") to pay awards under the CFTC Whistleblower Rules to eligible whistleblowers that voluntarily report "original information" about CEA violations leading to successful enforcement in a covered or related action. Original information is defined in relevant part as derived from a whistleblower's independent knowledge. The CFTC ordinarily will not consider information from compliance officers or internal audit employees to be derived from their independent knowledge. However, there is an exception to that limitation in situations where a compliance or internal audit employee reports internally and then waits at least 120 days before reporting to the CFTC.