US regulator hands out record $30m payout to JP Morgan whistleblower | City A.M.

A US markets regulator today announced it had handed its largest ever award to a JP Morgan Chase whistleblower.

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) said the whistleblower would get a record $30m for providing key information that led to an action being enforced against JP Morgan for failing to properly disclose weaknesses of investments to clients.

It relates to a 2015 case which led to the investment bank paying out over $300m to settle the allegations from the regulator.

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The award is the fifth payment handed out by the US programme. The award is far higher than the previous record sum of $10m, which was given out in March 2016.

“The Whistleblower Programme has become an integral component in the agency’s enforcement arsenal,” said CFTC chairman, J Christopher Giancarlo. “We hope that an award of this magnitude will incentivise whistleblowers to come forward with valuable information and provide notice to market participants that individuals are reporting quality information about violations of the Commodity Exchange Act.”

James McDonald, director of the division of enforcement added:

Whistleblower submissions have become a significant part of our enforcement program, allowing us to pursue violations we might otherwise have been unable to detect.

I expect the Whistleblower Program to contribute even more substantially to our enforcement efforts going forward.

JP Morgan declined to comment.

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