Another interesting feature about this award is the fact that the Commission went out of its way to make it clear that it was not only not punishing this whistleblower for first trying to go through internal channels before reporting to the SEC, but that in fact the Commission increased the amount of the award in part because of the tenacious way the whistleblower first sought to report the concerns internally. As one commentator noted in the April 16, 2020 Law360 article about the award (here), the Commission seems to want “to send a message that they will hold corporate America and Wall Street companies accountable if they fail to respond to internal reporting.” This aspect of the agency’s order also suggests that organizations with responsive internal mechanisms could have the opportunity to address concerns first before they come to the Commission’s attention.
via “Tenacious” SEC Whistleblower Awarded More Than $27 Million | The D&O Diary.