(HedgeCo.Net) The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission has announced it will award more than $1 million to a whistleblower whose tip helped expose a scheme that violated the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) and eventually led to the CFTC filing charges. The individual first provided the information through their employer’s internal compliance program to another regulator and then subsequently provided that information directly to the CFTC.

This award is significant because it recognizes that whistleblowers are eligible to receive an award for 1) being the original source of information the CFTC receives from another regulator, or 2) a tip that leads to evidence of a violation the CFTC ultimately charges, even if the reported conduct itself does not form the basis for those charges.

“Today’s award shows how referrals from other regulators can have a meaningful impact on the Commission’s enforcement program, and lead to whistleblower awards from the CFTC. We are committed to continuing to work with other regulators to maximize the impact and effectiveness of our enforcement and whistleblower programs,” said CFTC Director of Enforcement James McDonald.

“As the specific facts and circumstances of this matter demonstrate, the whistleblower does not have to identify the exact wrongdoing the CFTC ultimately charges—it is enough for their information to lead CFTC investigators directly to evidence of one or more of the agency’s claims,” said CFTC Whistleblower Office Director Christopher Ehrman. “Here, the whistleblower identified a problem in one area, and our Division of Enforcement used that knowledge and the whistleblower’s subsequent assistance to uncover illegality in another.”