(a) To be eligible for a whistleblower award, you must give the Commission information in the form and manner that the Commission requires. The procedures for submitting information and making a claim for an award are described in § 240.21F-9 through § 240.21F-11 of this chapter. You should read these procedures carefully because you need to follow them in order to be eligible for an award, except that the Commission may, in its sole discretion, waive any of these procedures based upon a showing of extraordinary circumstances.
(b) In addition to any forms required by these rules, the Commission may also require that you provide certain additional information. You may be required to:
(1) Provide explanations and other assistance in order that the staff may evaluate and use the information that you submitted;
(2) Provide all additional information in your possession that is related to the subject matter of your submission in a complete and truthful manner, through follow-up meetings, or in other forms that our staff may agree to;
(3) Provide testimony or other evidence acceptable to the staff relating to whether you are eligible, or otherwise satisfy any of the conditions, for an award; and
(4) Enter into a confidentiality agreement in a form acceptable to the Office of the Whistleblower, covering any non-public information that the Commission provides to you, and including a provision that a violation of the agreement may lead to your ineligibility to receive an award.
(c) You are not eligible to be considered for an award if you do not satisfy the requirements of paragraphs (a) and (b) of this section. In addition, you are not eligible if:
(1) You are, or were at the time you acquired the original information provided to the Commission, a member, officer, or employee of the Commission, the Department of Justice, an appropriate regulatory agency, a self-regulatory organization, the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, or any law enforcement organization;
(2) You are, or were at the time you acquired the original information provided to the Commission, a member, officer, or employee of a foreign government, any political subdivision, department, agency, or instrumentality of a foreign government, or any other foreign financial regulatory authority as that term is defined in Section 3(a)(52) of the Exchange Act (15 U.S.C. 78c(a)(52));
(3) You are convicted of a criminal violation that is related to the Commission action or to a related action (as defined in § 240.21F-4 of this chapter) for which you otherwise could receive an award;
(4) You obtained the original information that you gave the Commission through an audit of a company's financial statements, and making a whistleblower submission would be contrary to requirements of Section 10A of the Exchange Act (15 U.S.C. 78j-a).
(5) You are the spouse, parent, child, or sibling of a member or employee of the Commission, or you reside in the same household as a member or employee of the Commission;
(6) You acquired the original information you gave the Commission from a person:
(i) Who is subject to paragraph (c)(4) of this section, unless the information is not excluded from that person's use, or you are providing the Commission with information about possible violations involving that person; or
(ii) With the intent to evade any provision of these rules; or
(7) The Commission or a court of competent jurisdiction finds that, in your whistleblower submission, your other dealings with the Commission (including your dealings beyond the whistleblower program and covered action), or your dealings with another governmental/SRO entity (as specified in § 240.21F-3(b)(1)) in connection with a related action, you knowingly and willfully made any materially false, fictitious, or fraudulent statement or representation, or used any false writing or document knowing that it contains any materially false, fictitious, or fraudulent statement or entry with intent to mislead or otherwise hinder the Commission or another governmental/SRO entity, provided that this provision should not apply if the Commission, in its discretion, finds it consistent with the public interest, the promotion of investor protection, and the objectives of the whistleblower program.
(d) The Commission may modify or revise Form TCR and Form WB-APP as provided below.
(1) The Commission will periodically designate on the Commission's web page a Form TCR (Tip, Complaint, or Referral) that individuals seeking to be eligible for an award through the process identified in § 240.21F-9(a)(2) shall use.
(2) The Commission will also periodically designate on the Commission's web page a Form WB-APP for use by individuals seeking to apply for an award in connection with a Commission-covered judicial or administrative action (15 U.S.C. 21F(a)(1)), or a related action (§ 240.21F-3(b)(1)).
(e) The Commission shall have the authority to impose a permanent bar on a claimant as provided below.
(1) Grounds for a permanent bar. Submissions or applications that are frivolous or fraudulent, or that would otherwise hinder the effective and efficient operation of the Whistleblower Program may result in the Commission issuing a permanent bar as part of a final order in the course of considering a whistleblower award application from you. If such a bar is issued, the Office of the Whistleblower will not accept or act on any other applications from you. A permanent bar may be issued in the following circumstances:
(i) If you make three or more award applications for Commission actions that the Commission finds to be frivolous or lacking a colorable connection between the tip (or tips) and the Commission actions for which you are seeking awards; or
(ii) If the Commission finds that you have violated paragraph (c)(7) of this section.
(2) General procedures for issuance of a permanent bar. The Commission will consider whether to issue a permanent bar in connection with an award application from you. In general, the Preliminary Determination or Preliminary Summary Disposition must state that a bar is being recommended, and you will then have an opportunity to respond in writing in accordance with the award processing procedures specified in §§ 240.21F-10(e)(2) and 240.21F-18(b)(3). If the basis for a bar arises or is discovered after the issuance of a Preliminary Determination or Preliminary Summary Disposition, the Office of the Whistleblower shall notify you and afford you an opportunity to submit a response before the Commission determines whether to issue a bar.
(3) Notice and opportunity to withdraw frivolous applications.
(i) Except as provided in paragraph (e)(3)(ii) of this section, before any Preliminary Determination or Preliminary Summary Disposition is issued that may recommend a bar, the Office of the Whistleblower shall advise you of any assessment by that Office that your award application is frivolous (“frivolous application”) or based on a tip that lacks a colorable connection to the action for which you have sought an award (“noncolorable application”). If you withdraw your award application within 30 days of the notification from the Office of the Whistleblower, it will not be considered by the Commission in determining whether to exercise its authority under this paragraph (e).
(ii) The notification and opportunity to withdraw provided for by paragraph (e)(3)(i) are limited to the first three applications submitted by you that are reviewed by the Office of the Whistleblower and preliminarily deemed by that Office to be either a frivolous application or a noncolorable application. After these first three award applications, you will not be provided notice or an opportunity to withdraw any other frivolous or noncolorable applications.
(iii) For purposes of determining whether a bar should be imposed under section (e) of this rule, you will not be permitted to withdraw your application:
(A) After the 30-day period to withdraw has run following notice from the Office of the Whistleblower with respect to the initial three applications assessed by that Office to be frivolous or lacking a colorable connection to the action; or
(B) After a Preliminary Determination or Preliminary Summary Disposition has issued in connection with any other such application.
(4) Award applications pending before the effective date of paragraph (e).
(i) Paragraph (e) of this section shall apply to all award applications pending as of the effective date of paragraph (e) of this section. But with respect to any such pending award applications, the Office of the Whistleblower shall advise you, before any Preliminary Determination or Preliminary Summary Disposition is issued that may recommend a bar, of any assessment by that Office that the conditions for issuing a bar are satisfied because either:
(A) You submitted an award application prior to the effective date of this section (e) and that application is frivolous or lacking a colorable connection between the tip and the action for which you have sought an award; or
(B) You made a materially false, fictitious, or fraudulent statement or representation or used a false writing or document in violation of paragraph (c)(7) of this section prior to the effective date of this section (e).
(ii) If, within 30 days of the Office of the Whistleblower providing the foregoing notification, you withdraw the relevant award application(s), the withdrawn award application(s) will not be considered by the Commission in determining whether to exercise its authority under paragraph (e). Further, the procedures specified in paragraph (e)(3)(i) through (iii) of this section shall apply to any award application that is pending as of the effective date of this rule that is determined to be a frivolous or noncolorable application.
[76 FR 34363, June 13, 2011, as amended at 85 FR 70944, Nov. 5, 2020]