17 CFR 165.6 – Whistleblowers ineligible for an award
(a) No award under § 165.7 shall be made:
Terms Used In 17 CFR 165.6
- Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
- covered judicial or administrative action: means any judicial or administrative action brought by the Commission under the Commodity Exchange Act whose successful resolution results in monetary sanctions exceeding $1,000,000. See 17 CFR 165.2
- Federal Reserve System: The central bank of the United States. The Fed, as it is commonly called, regulates the U.S. monetary and financial system. The Federal Reserve System is composed of a central governmental agency in Washington, D.C. (the Board of Governors) and twelve regional Federal Reserve Banks in major cities throughout the United States. Source: OCC
- National Credit Union Administration: The federal regulatory agency that charters and supervises federal credit unions. (NCUA also administers the National Credit Union Share Insurance Fund, which insures the deposits of federal credit unions.) Source: OCC
- original information: means information that—
(1) Is derived from the independent knowledge or independent analysis of a whistleblower;
(2) Is not already known to the Commission from any other source, unless the whistleblower is the original source of the information;
(3) Is not exclusively derived from an allegation made in a judicial or administrative hearing, in a governmental report, hearing, audit, or investigation, or from the news media, unless the whistleblower is a source of the information; and
(4) Is submitted to the Commission for the first time after July 21, 2010 (the date of enactment of the Wall Street Transparency and Accountability Act of 2010). See 17 CFR 165.2
- related action: when used with respect to any judicial or administrative action brought by the Commission under the Commodity Exchange Act, means any judicial or administrative action brought by an entity listed in § 165. See 17 CFR 165.2
(1) To any whistleblower who is, or was at the time the whistleblower acquired the original information submitted to the Commission, a member, officer, or employee of: the Commission; the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System; the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency; the Board of Directors of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation; the Director of the Office of Thrift Supervision; the National Credit Union Administration Board; the Securities and Exchange Commission; the Department of Justice; a registered entity; a registered futures association; a self-regulatory organization (as defined in section 3(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (15 U.S.C. § 78c(a)); or a law enforcement organization;
(2) To any whistleblower who is convicted of a criminal violation related to the judicial or administrative action for which the whistleblower otherwise could receive an award under § 165.7;
(3) To any whistleblower who submits information to the Commission that is based on the facts underlying the covered judicial or administrative action submitted previously by another whistleblower;
(4) To any whistleblower who acquired the information the whistleblower gave the Commission from any of the individuals described in paragraphs (a)(1), (2), (3) or (6) of this section;
(5) To any whistleblower who, in the whistleblower’s submission, the whistleblower’s other dealings with the Commission, or the whistleblower’s dealings with another authority in connection with a related action, knowingly and willfully makes any false, fictitious, or fraudulent statement or representation, or uses any false writing or document, knowing that it contains any false, fictitious, or fraudulent statement or entry, or omitted any material fact, where, in the absence of such fact, other statements or representations made by the whistleblower would be misleading;
(6) To any whistleblower who acquired the original information reported to the Commission as a result of the whistleblower’s role as a member, officer or employee of either a foreign regulatory authority or law enforcement organization;
(7) To any whistleblower who is, or was at the time the whistleblower acquired the original information submitted to the Commission, a member, officer, or employee of a foreign regulatory authority or law enforcement organization; or
(8) To any whistleblower who acquired the original information the whistleblower gave the Commission from any other person with the intent to evade any provision of these rules.
(b) Notwithstanding a whistleblower’s ineligibility for an award for any reason set forth in paragraph (a) of this section, the whistleblower will remain eligible for the anti-retaliation protections set forth in Section 23(h)(1) of the Commodity Exchange Act.