Tuesday, March 2, 2021
Because of the unanticipated success of the Commodity Exchange Act’s (“CEA”) whistleblower law, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC” or “Commission”) faces a unique problem. The Commission cannot compensate whistleblowers, as required under law, because of a cap on the amount of money that can be deposited into a special fund used to pay rewards and other essential expenses necessary to operate the CFTC’s whistleblower office. The CTFC’s Consumer Protection Fund (“Fund”) is the exclusive Fund used to compensate whistleblowers who provide original information that results in a successful prosecution. All of the money deposited into the Fund comes directly from sanctions paid by fraudsters. However, because of the limit placed on the amount allowed to be deposited into the account, whistleblowers who disclose large frauds currently cannot be properly paid.