B.C. regulator pays tipster $25K in first-ever whistleblower award

A man walks in Stanley Park as the skyline of Vancouver is reflected in water in Vancouver, British Columbia, Friday, Feb. 5, 2010. (AP / Jae C. Hong)

The British Columbia Securities Commission has paid out its first-ever award to a whistleblower, an anonymous tipster who earned $25,000 for alerting authorities to suspected investment market misconduct.

The commission, which regulates capital markets and enforces securities laws in the province, announced the award Wednesday, but declined to disclose details about the misconduct investigation due to the sensitive nature of the whistleblower program.

“We can’t disclose details about the specific enforcement action, nor the nature of the suspected misconduct, nor who they are, or anything like that, in order to protect them, so no one can trace the connect the dots back to them,” said Elise Palmer, a spokesperson for the agency, in an interview.

The commission has offered awards ranging from $1,000 to $500,000 as part of its whistleblower program since November 2023. The awards are open to anyone with information about investment fraud or other types of market misconduct, though people who report their own misconduct are not eligible.

Unlike similar whistleblower programs, the BCSC says it can reward a tipster when any kind of enforcement action is taken on their information, including before a case has concluded.

“That could be things like a preservation order or a halt trade order, or formal allegations, like a notice of hearing, or something like that, so the case doesn’t have to be done,” Palmer said.

The regulator will even pay multiple awards on the same information as certain milestones are reached throughout the enforcement process.

The agency says the size of the award is determined by factors such as how quickly the information was reported and the seriousness of the alleged misconduct.

“The more valuable your information is, the more we may pay you,” said Brenda Leong, the chair and CEO of the BCSC, in a statement.

“This award reflects the fact that when individuals come forward with timely, credible information, it can make a real difference in our ability to act quickly to protect investors and the integrity of our investment markets.”

Whistleblowers can submit tips anonymously through a secure online portal, by mail or by phone. However, tipsters are required identify themselves to the commission before receiving any payment for their information.

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