SEC Payouts to Whistleblowers Plummet Despite Record Surge in Tips

The number of whistleblowers receiving awards from the Securities and Exchange Commission dropped sharply in fiscal year 2023, even as more tips poured in than ever before, and a single informant received the largest payout in agency history.

The agency received more than 18,000 tips in the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, a 50 percent jump from the previous year, according to the SEC whistleblower program’s annual report to Congress. But only 68 tipsters got any money, compared to more than 100 in each of the previous two years.