Data analysis nets whistleblower more than $500K

An industry expert who ferreted out misconduct and reported it to the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) is getting a six-figure reward from the regulator’s whistleblower program.

The OSC paid out $525,000 to a tipster who “used their industry expertise to identify irregularities” and report them to the regulator, an OSC release said.

The OSC isn’t revealing specific details about the cases in order to protect the whistleblower’s anonymity.

“Experts can be among the first to spot signs of potential misconduct in our markets,” said Jeff Kehoe, the OSC’s director of enforcement, in a statement.

“These subtle clues are often buried deep in reams of data and technical information decipherable only by someone with in-depth market knowledge or industry-specific expertise.”

Modelled on the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) program that’s paid out almost US$400 million to tipsters, the OSC pays financial rewards to whistleblowers who report serious misconduct that results in successful enforcement action.

The OSC’s program, which was officially launched in 2016, has now paid over $8 million to whistleblowers.

James Langton

James is a senior reporter for Advisor.ca and its sister publication, Investment Executive. He has been reporting on regulation, securities law, industry news and more since 1994.