Whistleblower Awards Process, 24487-24521 [2017-10801]

Agencies

• Commodity Futures Trading Commission

[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 102 (Tuesday, May 30, 2017)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 24487-24521]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-10801]


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COMMODITY FUTURES TRADING COMMISSION

17 CFR Part 165

RIN 3038-AE50


Whistleblower Awards Process

AGENCY: Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (``Commission'') is 
amending its regulations and forms to enhance the process for reviewing 
whistleblower claims and to make related changes to clarify staff 
authority to administer the whistleblower program. The Commission also 
is making appropriate rule amendments to implement its reinterpretation 
of the Commission's anti-retaliation authority.

DATES: This final rule is effective July 31, 2017.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Anthony Hays, Counsel, (202) 418-5584, 
ahays@cftc.gov, Commodity Futures Trading Commission, Three Lafayette 
Centre, 1155 21st Street NW., Washington, DC 20581.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Commission is amending its rules in 
Sec. Sec.  165.1 through 165.19 and appendix A, and adopting new rule 
Sec.  165.20 and appendix B as well as amending Forms TCR (``Tip, 
Complaint or Referral'') and WB-APP (``Application for Award for 
Original Information Provided Pursuant to Section 23 of the Commodity 
Exchange Act'').

I. Background

    In 2011, the Commission adopted its part 165 regulations, which 
implement Section 23 of the Commodity Exchange Act (``CEA''), 7 U.S.C. 
26, by establishing a regulatory framework for the whistleblower 
program.\1\ Part 165 provides for the payment of awards, subject to 
certain limitations and conditions, to whistleblowers who voluntarily 
provide the Commission with original information about a violation of 
the CEA that leads to the successful enforcement of an action brought 
by the Commission that results in monetary sanctions exceeding 
$1,000,000 (``Covered Action''), or the successful enforcement of a 
Related Action, as that term is defined in the rules.
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    \1\ See Whistleblower Incentives and Protection, 76 FR 53172 
(Aug. 25, 2011).
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    The award amount must be between 10 and 30 percent of the amount of 
monetary sanctions collected in a Covered Action or a Related Action 
and is paid from the CFTC Customer Protection Fund. The Commission has 
discretion regarding the amount of an award based on the significance 
of the information, the degree of assistance provided by the 
whistleblower, and other criteria.
    Since the whistleblower program was established in 2011, the need 
for certain improvements has become apparent. In order to address that 
need the Commission proposed amendments to the part 165 rules 
(``Proposal'').\2\ As explained further below, these rules provide for 
targeted revisions to the claims review process and to the authority of 
staff to administer the

[[Page 24488]]

whistleblower program. The Commission also proposed to amend the rules 
to implement its anti-retaliation authority under Section 23(h)(1) 
based on a reinterpretation of that authority. Finally, the Commission 
proposed to amend its rules to permit whistleblowers to receive awards 
based on both Covered Actions and the successful enforcement of Related 
Actions, as defined in the rules.
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    \2\ Whistleblower Awards Process, 81 FR 59551 (Aug. 30, 2016).
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    The Commission received seven comment letters in response to the 
Proposal. Most of the comment letters focused on specific aspects of 
the proposed rule amendments and made targeted recommendations and 
suggestions. Three of the comment letters were from private 
individuals, two were from law firms with whistleblower practices, and 
two were from whistleblower advocacy groups.\3\ Most of the comments 
received were generally supportive of the Commission's whistleblower 
program and proposed changes to the rules. One comment letter was 
critical of the current process for handling whistleblower award claims 
but did not provide specific comments on the proposed rules.\4\ One of 
the whistleblower advocacy groups incorporated by reference the comment 
letter previously submitted by the other group.\5\
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    \3\ See, respectively, the following: Letter dated September 12, 
2016, from Joseph N. Perlman; Letter dated September 16, 2016, from 
Chris Barnard; Letter dated September 27, 2016, from Matthew Erpen; 
Letter dated September 29, 2016, from Robert D.M. Garson, Garson, 
Segal, Steinmetz, Fladgate LLP (GS2Law); Letter dated September 29, 
2016, from Eric L. Young, Esq., and James J. McEldrew, Esq., 
McEldrew Young (MY); Letter dated September 28, 2016, from Jacklyn 
N. DeMar, Acting Director of Legal Education, Taxpayers Against 
Fraud (TAF); and Letter dated September 29, 2016, from Stephen M. 
Kohn, Executive Director, and David K. Colapinto, General Counsel, 
National Whistleblower Center (NWC).
    \4\ See Joseph N. Perlman comment letter.
    \5\ See NWC comment letter.
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II. Description of Final Rules

    The Commission is adopting the amendments to its part 165 
whistleblower rules as set forth in the Proposed Rules with certain 
changes made in response to public comments. The amendments and the 
public comments relevant to each amendment are discussed below.\6\
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    \6\ The public comments on the Proposed Rule are available at 
https://comments.cftc.gov/PublicComments/CommentList.aspx?id=1733.
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Eligibility Requirements for Consideration of an Award

a. Proposed Rule
    The Commission proposed targeted changes to the rules relating to 
consideration of an award. The Commission proposed to revise Rule 165.5 
to make clear that a claimant may receive an award in a Covered Action, 
in a Related Action, or both. Also in Rule 165.5, the Commission 
proposed to make clear that a claimant may be eligible for an award by 
providing the Commission original information without being the 
original source of the information, and the Commission provided the 
public with notice that the Commission has discretion to waive its 
procedural rules based upon a showing of extraordinary circumstances.
    In addition, the Commission proposed to revise the definition of 
``original source'' in Rule 165.2(l) to extend the timeframe from 120 
to 180 days that a whistleblower has to file a Form TCR pursuant to 
Rule 165.3 after previously providing the same information to Congress, 
any other federal or state authority, a registered entity, a registered 
futures association, a self-regulatory organization, or to any of the 
persons described in Rule 165.2(g)(4) and (5).
b. Comments Received
    The Commission received several comments regarding the proposed 
changes to the requirements for consideration of an award.
    Proposed Rule 165.5(b) removed being the original source of 
information received by the Commission from the eligibility criteria 
for an award. The Commission received one comment which endorsed this 
approach.\7\
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    \7\ See TAF comment letter.
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    The Commission received two comments regarding the Commission's 
proposal to amend Rule 165.5(c) to allow the Commission to waive 
procedural requirements in extraordinary circumstances. Both commenters 
supported the proposed change to this rule.\8\ One commenter noted that 
the proposed change to this rule is consistent with the overall policy 
goals of the whistleblower program and that whistleblowers have varying 
levels of sophistication and familiarity with the procedural 
requirements.\9\ Another commenter noted that rigid application of the 
procedural requirements would undermine the spirit of Congress when it 
created the whistleblower program and that the proposed change would 
further encourage whistleblowers to provide information even when they 
may not have followed all of the technical rules to be eligible for an 
award.\10\
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    \8\ See TAF and MY comment letters.
    \9\ See TAF comment letter.
    \10\ See MY comment letter.
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    Proposed Rule 165.2(l) extended the deadline from 120 to 180 days 
that a whistleblower has to make a submission to the Commission and 
retain status as the original source of information after first 
submitting the information to Congress, any other federal or state 
authority, a registered entity, a registered futures association, a 
self-regulatory organization, or to any of the persons described in 
paragraphs (g)(4) and (5) of Rule 165.2 to be eligible for an award. 
The Commission received two comments supporting this proposed 
change.\11\ One commenter stated that many whistleblowers are often at 
or beyond the 120-day period before considering external reporting 
because they wait for the outcome of the internal investigation before 
reporting externally and internal investigations often take some time. 
This commenter also stated that while 180 days is a substantial 
improvement, an even longer time frame would help ensure that well-
intentioned individuals receive full credit for their information.\12\
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    \11\ See TAF and MY comment letters.
    \12\ See MY comment letter.
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    The other commenter agreed that the period of eligibility should be 
lengthened to 180 days but urged the Commission to state that the 180-
day period refers only to the whistleblower's ``look back'' eligibility 
to retain original source status and that whistleblowers will not lose 
that status or eligibility for an award if they perfect their 
submission to the Commission after 180 days elapse. This commenter also 
urged the Commission to revise Rule 165.2(l)(2) to include individuals 
who first provide information to foreign governments or self-regulatory 
authorities because of the global nature of the commodities markets and 
the increasing number of international whistleblowers participating in 
the Dodd-Frank whistleblower programs. This commenter went on to state 
that there is no persuasive policy reason for excluding such persons 
from original source status because some of the Commission's recent 
enforcement cases were brought with the cooperation of foreign 
authorities and the proposed rules allow for whistleblower awards based 
on Related Actions by certain foreign authorities. Hence, this 
commenter argued that if whistleblowers may receive awards based on 
Related Actions undertaken by foreign authorities, those whistleblowers 
should be entitled to original source eligibility in instances where 
they report to a foreign authority prior to reporting to the 
Commission.\13\
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    \13\ See TAF comment letter.

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[[Page 24489]]

c. Final Rule
    The Commission received no comments regarding the proposed revision 
in Rule 165.5(a)(3) that makes clear that a claimant may receive an 
award in a Covered Action, in a Related Action, or both and, 
accordingly, is adopting the amendment as proposed.
    With respect to the proposed revision to Rule 165.5(b), the 
Commission believes that removing the requirement that the 
whistleblower be the original source of information received by the 
Commission is consistent with Section 23(b)(1), and will prevent the 
potential situation where a claimant reports internally before 
providing information to the Commission and the employer self-reports 
the violation of the CEA, thereby foreclosing the claimant's 
eligibility for an award because the employer is the ``original 
source'' of the information. The Commission is adopting this amendment 
as proposed.
    The Commission has also decided to adopt as proposed Rule 165.5(c), 
which clarifies that the Commission may waive any procedural 
requirements upon a showing of extraordinary circumstances.
    After consideration of the comments on Rule 165.2(l), the 
Commission has decided to adopt the rule with one change, a conforming 
change and a minor correction. The Commission is adding foreign futures 
authorities \14\ to the authorities and entities to which a claimant 
may provide information prior to filing a Form TCR and retain original 
source status. This change is consistent with the list of agencies and 
authorities in Section 23(h)(2)(C) with which the Commission can share 
information received from a whistleblower if necessary or appropriate 
to accomplish the purposes of the Commodity Exchange Act and protect 
customers. The Commission understands that individuals who are located 
outside the United States might decide to approach a local authority 
prior to providing information to the Commission. As a result, and in 
consideration of the global nature of the futures and swaps markets and 
the number of the Commission's recent enforcement actions that have 
been undertaken with the cooperation of foreign governments, the 
Commission believes it is appropriate to expand the list of entities in 
Rules 165.2(l)(1)(i) and 165.2(l)(2). In addition, the Commission is 
adding registered entity and registered futures association to, and 
removing futures association from the list of authorities in Rule 
165.2(i)(2); and adding registered entity and registered futures 
association to Rule 165.2(l)(1)(i) in order to conform those rules to 
existing language in Rules 165.4(a)(2) and 165.11 and to Section 
23(h)(2)(C)(i). The Commission is correcting a typographical error in 
Rule 165.2(l)(2) by removing ``of any'' and correcting an omission by 
inserting ``local'' in the list of authorities in the first sentence.
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    \14\ Section 1a(26) of the CEA defines foreign futures authority 
as any foreign government, or any department, agency, governmental 
body, or regulatory organization empowered by a foreign government 
to administer or enforce a law, rule, or regulation as it relates to 
a futures or options matter, or any department or agency of a 
political subdivision of a foreign government empowered to 
administer or enforce a law, rule, or regulation as it relates to a 
futures or options matter.
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    The Commission also clarifies that the 180-day timeframe in Rule 
165.2(l)(2) relates only to the date on which the Commission will 
consider a whistleblower's original information to have been received. 
Filing a Form TCR more than 180 days after reporting information to 
another authority does not strip a whistleblower of original source 
status or render a whistleblower ineligible for an award. Also, the 
Commission is amending Rule 165.2(i)(3) to extend the time from 120 to 
180 days in order to conform that rule to the extension of the 
timeframe in Rule 165.2(1)(2).

Award Claims Review Under Rule 165.7

a. Proposed Rules
    The Commission proposed several changes to the award claims review 
process under Rule 165.7 to better define and specify each step in the 
process. Those steps were spelled out in proposed new paragraphs (f) 
through (l), along with new provisions regarding withdrawing award 
applications in proposed paragraph (d) and disposition of claims that 
do not relate to Notices of Covered Actions (``NCAs'') or final 
judgments in Related Actions in proposed new paragraph (e). The 
proposed amendments would establish a review process similar to that 
established under the SEC's whistleblower rules.\15\ Specifically, the 
Commission proposed to discontinue the Whistleblower Award 
Determination Panel and replace it with a review process handled by a 
Claims Review Staff designated by the Director of the Division of 
Enforcement in consultation with the Executive Director, with the 
Claims Review Staff being assisted by the Whistleblower Office staff 
within the Division of Enforcement. The proposed rules also would 
provide an additional means for the submission of the required Form WB-
APP, Application for Award for Original Information Provided Pursuant 
to Section 23 of the Commodity Exchange Act, in Rule 165.7(b)(1); 
explain the deadline for filing Form WB-APP under different timing 
scenarios for final judgments in covered judicial or administrative 
actions and Related Actions in proposed Rule 165.7(b)(3); and make a 
conforming change by renumbering prior paragraph (e) in Rule 165.7 as 
paragraph (l).
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    \15\ See 17 CFR 240.21F-10(d)-(h) (2014).
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    Proposed Rule 165.7(d) would permit a claimant to withdraw an award 
application at any point in the review process by submitting a written 
request to the Whistleblower Office.
    Proposed Rule 165.7(e) addressed the Commission's experience of 
receiving a number of Form WB-APPs that appear to be unrelated to NCAs 
or final judgments in Related Actions as well as Form WB-APPs that do 
not relate to a previously filed Form TCR. In order to reduce the 
administrative burden on the Commission, the Commission proposed that 
such facially ineligible claims primarily be handled by the 
Whistleblower Office. The Whistleblower Office would notify the 
claimant of the deficiencies in the Form WB-APP and provide an 
opportunity for the claimant to correct the deficiencies or withdraw 
the claim before the finalization of the denial of the claim. If the 
claimant does not correct the deficiencies or withdraw the claim, the 
Whistleblower Office would notify the Claims Review Staff of the 
proposed denial, which would be called a Proposed Final Disposition, 
and any member of the Claims Review Staff would have the opportunity to 
request review of the proposed denial. If no member of the Claims 
Review Staff requests review, the Proposed Final Disposition would 
become the final order of the Commission. If a member of the Claims 
Review Staff requests review, the Claims Review Staff would review the 
record for the denial and either remand to the Whistleblower Office for 
further action or issue a final order of the Commission, which consists 
of the proposed denial.
    In Rule 165.7(f), the Commission proposed that the Claims Review 
Staff would evaluate all timely award applications submitted on a Form 
WB-APP in response to the NCA or a final judgment in a Related Action. 
During the review process, the Whistleblower Office may require that 
claimants provide additional information, explanation, or assistance as 
set forth in Rule 165.5(b)(3). For award claims on Related Actions, as 
proposed in Rule 165.7(f), the Whistleblower Office may request 
additional information from the claimant to demonstrate that the

[[Page 24490]]

claimant voluntarily provided the governmental agency, regulatory 
authority, or self-regulatory organization the same original 
information that led to the Commission's successful enforcement action 
and the successful enforcement of the Related Action. The Whistleblower 
Office may also seek assistance and confirmation from the other agency 
in making this determination.
    In Rule 165.7(g)(1), the Commission proposed that following the 
initial evaluation by the Claims Review Staff, the Claims Review Staff 
would issue a Preliminary Determination setting forth a preliminary 
assessment as to whether the claim should be granted or denied and, if 
granted, setting forth the proposed award percentage amount. The 
Whistleblower Office would send a copy of the Preliminary Determination 
to the claimant. The proposed amendments would allow a claimant the 
opportunity to contest the Preliminary Determination.
    In Rule 165.7(g)(2), the Commission proposed that the claimant 
could take any of the following steps in response to a Preliminary 
Determination:
     Within thirty (30) calendar days of the date of the 
Preliminary Determination, the claimant may request that the 
Whistleblower Office make available for the claimant's review the 
materials that formed the basis of the Claim Review Staff's Preliminary 
Determination.
     Within sixty (60) calendar days of the date of the 
Preliminary Determination, or if a request to review materials is made, 
then within sixty (60) days of the Whistleblower Office making those 
materials available for the claimant's review, a claimant may submit a 
written response setting forth the grounds for the claimant's objection 
to either the denial of an award or the proposed amount of an award. 
The claimant may also include documentation or other evidentiary 
support for the grounds advanced in any response, and request a meeting 
with the Whistleblower Office. However, such meetings would not be 
required. The Whistleblower Office may in its sole discretion decline 
the request.
    Proposed Rule 165.7(h) provides that if a claimant fails to submit 
a timely response under new Rule 165.7(g), then a Preliminary 
Determination denying an award becomes the Final Order of the 
Commission and constitutes a failure to exhaust the claimant's 
administrative remedies. Failure to exhaust administrative remedies 
would prohibit the claimant from pursuing judicial review.
    If the claimant fails to contest a Preliminary Determination 
recommending an award, the Preliminary Determination would be treated 
as a Proposed Final Determination, which would make it subject to 
Commission review under proposed Rule 165.7(j).
    Proposed Rule 165.7(i) describes the procedure in cases where a 
claimant submits a timely response under proposed Rule 165.7(g). In 
such cases, the Claims Review Staff would consider the issues raised in 
the claimant's response, along with any supporting documentation that 
the claimant provided, and prepare a Proposed Final Determination.
    In Rule 165.7(j), the Commission proposed that when there is a 
Proposed Final Determination, the Whistleblower Office would notify the 
Commission of the Proposed Final Determination. Within thirty (30) days 
of that notification, any Commissioner may request Commission review of 
the Proposed Final Determination. If no Commissioner makes such a 
request, the Proposed Final Determination would become the Commission's 
Final Order. If a Commissioner does request review, the Commission 
would review the record that the Claims Review Staff relied upon in 
reaching its determination. On the basis of its review of that record, 
the Commission would issue its Final Order, which the Office of the 
Secretariat would then serve on the claimant. In reaching their 
decisions, the Commission and Claims Review Staff would only consider 
information in the record.
    The Office of General Counsel would review both preliminary and 
proposed final determinations prior to issuance, and no such 
determination may be issued without the Office of General Counsel's 
determination of legal sufficiency.
    In Rule 165.15(a)(2), the Commission proposed that the Enforcement 
Director, in consultation with the Executive Director, would designate 
a minimum of three and a maximum of five staff from the Division of 
Enforcement or other Commission Offices or Divisions to serve on the 
Claims Review Staff, either on a case-by-case basis or for fixed 
periods. At least one person from outside the Division of Enforcement 
would be included on the Claims Review Staff at all times. The Claims 
Review Staff would be composed only of persons who have not had direct 
involvement with the underlying enforcement action. Due to the Office 
of General Counsel's role in the review process, the Commission 
believes it is appropriate to exclude staff from that Office from 
serving as Claims Review Staff.
b. Comments Received
    The Commission received two generally supportive comments regarding 
the proposed additions and changes to the award review process.\16\ One 
commenter stated that having dedicated staff for award determinations 
would be beneficial and urged the Commission to publish NCAs for 
Related Actions that the Commission knows emanated from the information 
provided by the whistleblower.\17\ The other commenter reasoned that 
the proposed changes in the process allow whistleblowers to better 
understand the reasons for a particular award or denial and to make 
informed requests for reconsideration, and that the proposed changes 
offer greater transparency in the awards process and will likely 
obviate the need for some appeals.\18\
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    \16\ See GS2Law and TAF comment letters.
    \17\ See GS2Law comment letter.
    \18\ See TAF comment letter.
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c. Final Rule
    After consideration of the comments received, the Commission has 
decided to adopt Rule 165.7 as proposed. The Commission anticipates 
that these revisions will provide the public and claimants with greater 
transparency in the awards claim review process and enhance the 
expeditious and fair administration of the program. The Commission 
declines a commenter's request that the Commission publish NCAs for 
Related Actions. The Commission believes that doing so would be 
unworkable and burdensome for the Commission. Publishing NCAs on all 
criminal and civil actions that may become Related Actions would 
require staff to track, monitor, and report on many actions that are 
not Commission actions. Rule 165.7(b)(3) clearly describes how and when 
actions brought by other agencies become Related Actions and when a 
claimant must file a Form WB-APP with the Commission to apply for an 
award in connection with these actions. It is the claimant's 
responsibility to track the outcome of a Related Action if the claimant 
has an interest in pursuing an award application based on that Related 
Action.
    In response to the comment on the nature of the Claims Review 
staff, the Commission notes that the Claims Review Staff will be drawn 
from the Commission's Divisions and Offices, other than the Office of 
General Counsel. As detailed in Rule 165.7, the role of Claims Review 
Staff is primarily

[[Page 24491]]

to make preliminary decisions on the merits of award applications 
including, if applicable, award amounts.\19\ Service by a Commission 
employee on the Claims Review Staff will be in addition to the other 
duties of the employee in their Division or Office. As is the case at 
the SEC, the Claims Review Staff will be assisted by staff from the 
Whistleblower Office who will assemble the factual record related to an 
award claim, provide analysis of an award claimant's eligibility and, 
if applicable, make a recommendation of a proposed award amount.
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    \19\ The Commission will have an opportunity to review 
preliminary denial decisions that are contested by the claimant and 
all award recommendations. See Rule 165.7(j).
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Awards for Related Actions

a. Proposed Rules
    For award claims on Related Actions, the Commission proposed to 
amend Rule 165.11 to permit claimants who are eligible to receive an 
award in a covered judicial or administrative action to also receive an 
award based on the monetary sanctions that are collected from a final 
judgment in a Related Action. The exception would be that the 
Commission would not make an award to a claimant for a Related Action 
if the claimant has been granted an award by the SEC for the same 
action under the SEC's whistleblower program. This would prevent a 
claimant from ``double dipping'' and receiving more than one award for 
the same action. Similarly, if the SEC has previously denied an award 
to a claimant in a Related Action, the claimant would be precluded from 
relitigating any issues before the Commission that the SEC resolved 
against the claimant as part of the SEC's award denial. The limitations 
on obtaining an award for both Covered Actions and final judgments in 
Related Actions are similar to those imposed by the SEC in its 
whistleblower program.
    A Related Action under Rule 165.2(m) is based on the original 
information voluntarily submitted by a whistleblower to the Commission 
that led to the successful enforcement of a Commission action, and 
therefore, an action may only become a Related Action after there is a 
successful Commission action. The Commission accordingly proposed 
revisions to clarify timing requirements for filing whistleblower award 
claims regarding Related Actions. The proposed revisions were intended 
to clarify that, except in the circumstances described in proposed Rule 
165.7(b)(3)(ii), award claims for a Related Action shall be filed 
within 90 days after an action meets the definition of Related Action 
if the order in the Related Action was issued prior to the successful 
enforcement of a Commission action. The proposed revisions also clarify 
that award claims for a Related Action and in response to a Notice of 
Covered Action may be submitted on the same Form WB-APP in certain 
circumstances.
b. Comments Received
    The Commission received one comment regarding Proposed Rule 165.11. 
The commenter expressed some confusion as to whether the information 
provided by a whistleblower must be presented to the Commission prior 
to presenting the information to another authority in order for a 
whistleblower to be eligible for an award in a Related Action.\20\ The 
commenter stated that the Commission should clarify that whistleblowers 
who first take their information to another authority and later provide 
their information to the Commission are eligible for an award.
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    \20\ See TAF comment letter.
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c. Final Rule
    The Commission has decided to adopt Rule 165.11 as proposed. The 
Commission also takes this opportunity to clarify that a whistleblower 
retains eligibility under Rule 165.11, Rule 165.5, and Rule 165.2(l) 
for an award based on information provided by the whistleblower to 
another authority prior to the time that the whistleblower provided the 
information to the Commission.

Contents of Record for Award Determinations

a. Proposed Rules
    The Commission proposed to amend Rule 165.10(a) to identify 
additional items that may be included in the contents of record for 
award claims as a result of the Commission's proposal to amend Rule 
165.11 to permit claimants who are eligible to receive an award in a 
covered judicial or administrative action to also receive an award 
based on the monetary sanctions that are collected from a final 
judgment in a Related Action. For Related Actions, any documents or 
materials, including sworn declarations from third parties, that are 
received or obtained by the Whistleblower Office to assist the 
Commission in resolving the claimant's award application, including 
information relating to the claimant's eligibility, may be included in 
the record. In addition, any information provided to the Commission by 
the entity bringing the Related Action that has been authorized by the 
entity for sharing with the claimant may be part of the record. Neither 
of these types of information may be relied upon by the Commission or 
the Claims Review Staff in making a decision on a whistleblower award 
claim or included in the contents of the record if the entity did not 
authorize the Commission to share the information with the claimant.
    The Commission also proposed revisions to Rules 165.10(b) and 
165.13(b) to clarify that the record on appeal shall not include any 
pre-decisional or internal deliberative process materials that are 
prepared to assist the Commission or Claims Review Staff in deciding a 
claim.
b. Comments Received
    The Commission received one comment regarding the record for award 
determinations and appeals. This commenter strongly urged the 
Commission to further revise Proposed Rules 165.10 and 165.13 to not 
categorically exclude from the record pre-decisional and internal 
deliberative process materials prepared to assist the Commission in 
award determinations, and suggested that the Commission would be 
denying whistleblowers a meaningful right to appeal by defining by rule 
what constitutes the record.\21\
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    \21\ See TAF comment letter.
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c. Final Rule
    Following consideration of the comments received, the Commission 
has decided to adopt the revisions to Rules 165.10(a) and (b) and 
165.13(b) as proposed. The Commission disagrees with the comment that 
the Commission defining by rule what constitutes the record denies a 
claimant a meaningful right to appeal award determinations.\22\ Under 
Rules 165.10 and 165.13, all factual materials relied on by Claims 
Review Staff or the Commission in making an award determination will be 
available to the claimant and reviewing court. The Commission believes 
that pre-decisional or internal deliberative process materials that are 
prepared to assist the Commission or Claims Review Staff from the 
record are protected by attorney-client privilege as well as attorney 
work product under well

[[Page 24492]]

settled law. Similarly, the exclusion of any documents or materials 
provided by a third-party that have not been authorized for release by 
the third-party does not deny the claimant due process because these 
materials will not be considered by the Commission or Claims Review 
Staff in reaching a decision on the award claim.
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    \22\ As an example, the commenter referred to appeals of IRS 
whistleblower cases (Insinga v. Commissioner, Tax Court Docket No. 
9011-13W (July 27, 2016) and Whistleblower One 10683-13W et al. v. 
Commissioner, 145 T.C. No. 8 (September 16, 2015)) in which the 
whistleblower sought factual information in the underlying 
enforcement cases to determine whether the information the 
whistleblower provided the IRS contributed to the success of the 
enforcement action. The Commission believes its practice is 
distinguishable in that all of the facts that underlie the 
Commission's decision are included in the record under Rules 165.10 
and 165.13.
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Authority To Administer the Program

a. Proposed Rule
    The Commission proposed to directly assign responsibilities for 
administering the program by rule rather than by delegation in Rule 
165.15 in light of the proposed changes to the claims review process. 
Since 2013, the Whistleblower Office has been located within the 
Division of Enforcement. The Commission believes that it is appropriate 
to assign overall responsibility for administering the whistleblower 
program to the Director of the Division of Enforcement. The Commission 
notes that this approach is consistent with the SEC's practice.
    The Commission also proposed to directly assign responsibility to 
Claims Review Staff for the issuance of Preliminary Determinations and 
Proposed Final Determinations, and issuance of Proposed Final 
Dispositions to the WBO. In this connection, the Commission proposed, 
again consistent with the SEC's practice, that no member of the Claims 
Review Staff can have had any direct involvement in the underlying 
enforcement case.
b. Comments Received
    The Commission received no comments regarding the proposed changes 
to the authority to administer the whistleblower program.
c. Final Rule
    The Commission has decided to adopt the revisions to the authority 
to administer the program as proposed.

Whistleblower Identifying Information

a. Proposed Rule
    Rule 165.4 implements the confidentiality protections for 
whistleblower identifying information contained in Section 23(h)(2). In 
proposed Rule 165.15(a)(3), the Commission proposed to authorize the 
Director of the Division of Enforcement to act on its behalf to 
disclose whistleblower identifying information as permitted by Section 
23(h)(2)(C) and Rule 165.4(a)(2) and (3). The Commission stated in the 
Proposal that it expects the Director of Enforcement to exercise this 
discretion to release such sensitive information in a manner consistent 
with, and when deemed necessary or appropriate to accomplish, the 
customer protection and law enforcement goals of the whistleblower 
program. The Commission said in the Proposal that it believes that this 
delegation of authority will increase investor protection by 
facilitating administration of the whistleblower program as well as 
investigations and actions by those agencies and authorities that are 
eligible to receive whistleblower identifying information under Section 
23(h)(2)(C) and Rule 165.4. Any agency or authority that receives 
whistleblower identifying information is bound by the same 
confidentiality requirements as those applicable to the Commission 
under Section 23(h)(2)(A) and such sharing of information does not 
change the confidential nature of the information. Certain information 
provided to other agencies or authorities is also protected from 
disclosure under Section 8 of the CEA. The Commission also proposed to 
revise a question in the Form TCR, question E.8, seeking consent from 
whistleblowers to share their information with other authorities.
b. Comments Received
    The Commission received one comment opposing the proposed changes 
to Rule 165.4 and Form TCR. The commenter viewed the proposed changes 
as a ``loosening'' of the confidentiality of a whistleblower's 
identity. In addition, the commenter suggested that: (1) A 
whistleblower should be entitled to know the other agencies with which 
identifying information is shared; (2) the scope of the proposal on 
sharing the whistleblower's identifying information is too broad; and, 
(3) the Commission does not have the ability to monitor or enforce 
confidential treatment of the whistleblower's identifying information 
once it has been shared with other agencies. The commenter also 
suggested that the whistleblower should be consulted by the Commission 
prior to any sharing of the whistleblower's identifying information 
with other agencies and provided the opportunity to prevent such 
sharing because the whistleblower may have reported to the Commission 
rather than to another authority as the result of previous encounters 
with personnel at other agencies that left the whistleblower with less 
trust or confidence in those agencies. Finally, the commenter argued 
that the sharing of information with self-regulatory organizations is 
too broad because the term ``self-regulatory organization'' is not 
properly defined in the rules.\23\
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    \23\ See GS2Law comment letter.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

c. Final Rule
    After consideration of the comment received, the Commission is 
adopting Rule 165.4(a)(2) as proposed, with a minor change. Section 
23(h)(2)(C) provides the Commission with the authority to share all 
information provided by the whistleblower with the authorities listed 
in that section without the consent or consultation of the 
whistleblower, subject to the limitation that providing the 
whistleblower's identifying information is necessary or appropriate to 
accomplish the purposes of the CEA and protect customers. Reassigning 
the authority to make the decision to disclose whistleblower 
identifying information in a manner permitted by Section 23(h)(2)(C) 
from the Director of the Whistleblower Office to a more senior 
Commission official, the Director of the Division of Enforcement, is 
not a loosening of whistleblower identity protections. The Commission 
believes that this delegation of authority will increase investor 
protection by facilitating administration of the whistleblower program 
as well as investigations and actions by those agencies and authorities 
that are eligible to receive whistleblower identifying information 
under Section 23(h)(2)(C) and Rule 165.4. Section 23(h)(2)(C)(i), Rule 
165.4(a)(2), and the Privacy Act Notice on Form TCR identify for 
whistleblowers the entities with which whistleblower identifying 
information may be shared. If a potential whistleblower is not 
comfortable with the possibility that confidential information about 
them may be shared with one or more of these entities, the potential 
whistleblower can decide not to file a Form TCR.
    The Commission does not believe that Commission monitoring of the 
treatment of confidential whistleblower information by a receiving 
authority is necessary. As the commenter pointed out, receiving 
authorities are bound by the same confidentiality provisions as the 
Commission. The Commission makes sure that a receiving authority 
understands these limitations when it shares confidential whistleblower 
information with them. Further, all of the entities with which the 
Commission may share confidential information are experienced in 
handling and protecting confidential information such as whistleblower 
identifying information.
    The Commission does not agree with the commenter's assertion that 
``self-

[[Page 24493]]

regulatory organization'' is not defined. Section 23(h)(2)(C)(i)(III) 
limits the self-regulatory organizations with which confidential 
whistleblower information can be shared to those self-regulatory 
organizations that fit within the definition in section 3(a) of the 
Securities Exchange Act of 1934.\24\ This is the meaning of ``self-
regulatory organization'' throughout Section 23 of the CEA and the part 
165 Rules. To eliminate any confusion in this regard, the Commission is 
making conforming amendments throughout the Part 165 Rules to clarify 
that a self-regulatory organization is a self-regulatory organization 
as defined by section 3(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \24\ 15 U.S.C. 78c(a).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Finally, in light of the comments, the Commission also has 
determined to remove Question E.8 on Form TCR. The wording of this 
question was not consistent with the authority granted to the 
Commission to share whistleblower identifying information in Section 
23(h)(C)(i) and the language of Rule 165.4(a)(2). The Privacy Act 
Notice in Form TCR puts potential whistleblowers on notice that the 
information that they provide to the Commission may be shared with 
other authorities.

Retaliation Against Whistleblowers

a. Proposed Rule
    In the Proposal, the Commission proposed several substantial 
changes to its anti-retaliation authority. The Commission proposed 
revisions to Rule 165.19 and appendix A, and the addition of new Rule 
165.20. The Commission proposed to amend Rule 165.19 to prohibit a 
person from taking any action to impede an individual from 
communicating directly with the Commission's staff about a possible 
violation of the CEA, including by enforcing, or threatening to 
enforce, a confidentiality agreement or predispute arbitration 
agreement with respect to such communications. The Commission also 
proposed to revise its 2011 interpretation that it lacked statutory 
authority to bring an enforcement action against an employer that 
retaliated against a whistleblower. The Commission proposed that 
Sections 6(c), 6(d), 6b, 6c, and 23(i) of the CEA allow the Commission 
to pursue such violations of the Act through an enforcement action. The 
Commission proposed Rule 165.20 to make clear that Section 23(h)(1)(A) 
of the CEA, including the rules in part 165 promulgated thereunder, is 
enforceable in an action or proceeding brought by the Commission. 
Proposed Rule 165.20(c) provides that the anti-retaliation protections 
apply irrespective of whether a whistleblower qualifies for an award. 
The Commission also proposed changes to appendix A to reflect the 
Commission's ability to bring enforcement actions to prosecute 
violations of the anti-retaliation prohibition of Section 23(h)(1)(A).
b. Comments Received
    The Commission received several comments regarding the proposed 
revisions to the anti-retaliation provisions. The Commission received 
one comment letter that addressed the proposed revisions to Rules 
165.19(b), 165.20(b) and 165.20(c) \25\ and another comment letter 
focused on proposed Rule 165.20(c).\26\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \25\ See MY comment letter.
    \26\ See MY and TAF comment letters.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The comment on Rule 165.19(b) supported the proposal and noted that 
this change will more closely align the Commission with the SEC with 
respect to combating the chilling of whistleblowing by employers who 
require waivers of rewards in severance packages for whistleblowing.
    This commenter was similarly supportive of the proposed expansion 
of Commission enforcement authority to address retaliation against 
whistleblowers. This commenter noted that more substantial penalties or 
a government enforcement action would be more apt to deter retaliation 
against whistleblowers than only a private right of action.
    Both commenters asked the Commission to clarify its position on 
proposed Rule 165.20(c) with regard to taking enforcement action 
against employers that retaliate against whistleblowers prior to the 
whistleblower filing a Form TCR with the Commission. One commenter 
reiterated the point that many whistleblowers await the outcome of any 
internal investigation before providing the Commission any 
information.\27\ In the commenter's view, it would not be fair or in 
the public interest to leave such a whistleblower unprotected during 
this interim period between reporting internally and filing a Form TCR 
with the Commission. This commenter further explained that the 
Commission taking enforcement action when companies or individuals 
retaliate against whistleblowing activity prior to the filing of a Form 
TCR will create additional incentives for employees to report 
internally before providing information to the Commission.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \27\ See MY comment letter.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

c. Final Rule
    Having considered the fully supportive comment on Rules 165.19(b) 
and 165.20(b), the Commission is adopting these rules as proposed. The 
Commission is also re-organizing and making minor changes to proposed 
Appendix A to better reflect the fact that either the Commission or a 
private litigant can bring an action for a violation of Section 
23(h)(1)(A).
    By adopting proposed Rule 165.20(b), the Commission is confirming 
its decision to revise its 2011 interpretation that it lacks the 
statutory authority to bring an enforcement case against an employer 
that violates the anti-retaliation prohibition in Section 23(h)(1). The 
2011 interpretation failed to fully consider the statutory context of 
Section 23 and other CEA provisions. The 2011 interpretation does not 
comport with Section 23(h)(1)(A)'s prohibition against retaliation; the 
Commission's broad rulemaking authority under Section 23(i); and, the 
Commission's general authority to prosecute violations of any CEA 
provision (including Section 23(h)(1)(A)) as well as violations of the 
Commission's rules and orders under CEA sections 6(c), 6(d), 6b and 6c. 
Sections 6(c), 6(d), 6b and 6c of the Act empower the Commission to 
take actions for the violation of ``any'' CEA provision or rule or 
regulation thereunder. Although Section 23(h)(1)(B) provides a private 
right of action, nothing in that sub-section purports to limit the 
Commission's general enforcement authority or suggests that the private 
right of action is exclusive.
    With regard to Rule 165.20(c), the Commission has decided, after 
considering the comments received, to adopt it with some modification. 
The Commission believes these revisions will further encourage 
whistleblowers to report internally\28\ as well as deter retaliatory 
practices against whistleblowers.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \28\ The part 165 Rules encourage whistleblowers to report 
internally prior to reporting to the Commission. Rule 165.2(l)(2), 
discussed above, allows a whistleblower to retain original source 
status after reporting internally. Additionally, Rule 165.9(b)(4) 
includes in the factors that may increase the amount of an award 
whether and the extent to which a whistleblower reported the 
possible violations through internal whistleblower, legal, or 
compliance procedures before or at the same time as reporting those 
violations to the Commission, and whether and the extent to which a 
whistleblower assisted any internal investigation or inquiry 
concerning the reported violations.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    It would be inconsistent for the Commission to encourage internal 
reporting by whistleblowers and not extend to them anti-retaliation

[[Page 24494]]

protections to the extent the CEA permits. To do so would place 
whistleblowers who report internally in a worse position than 
whistleblowers who do not report internally prior to reporting to the 
Commission, forcing whistleblowers to choose between reporting 
internally first in the hopes of increasing any award or foregoing 
reporting internally in order to preserve anti-retaliation protections.
    However, the anti-retaliation protections in the CEA do not extend 
to all whistleblowers who report internally. Section 23(h) and Rule 
165.20(a) provide that the whistleblower in a private action or the 
Commission in an enforcement action must be able to show that 
retaliation occurred because of any lawful act done by the 
whistleblower in providing information to the Commission in accordance 
with the part 165 rules, or assisting in any investigation or judicial 
or administrative action of the Commission based upon or related to 
such information. The ability to make this showing will depend on the 
facts and circumstances of a particular case. Actions that an employer 
took after a whistleblower reported internally but before providing 
information to the Commission may be relevant to whether retaliation 
that is prohibited under Section 23(h)(1) occurred. For this reason, 
the Commission is adding language to Rule 165.20(b) to explicitly 
recognize this possibility.

Payment of Awards

a. Comment Received
    The Commission proposed no revisions to Rule 165.14 on the payment 
of awards. However, the Commission received one comment regarding the 
payment of awards.\29\ This commenter noted that the current part 165 
Rules do not make available the payment of the minimum amount of an 
award (10%) until the whistleblower's time to appeal has expired, and 
suggested that the rules be amended to provide for payment of the 
minimum amount of an award at the time the order of award is issued. 
This commenter argued that once an award has been ordered by the 
Commission, the Commission has admitted that there is an entitlement to 
an award and the Commission is estopped from later removing an award 
during the appeal process. In addition, this commenter stated that 
often the elapsed time between the whistleblower's original tip and any 
award is measured in years, not weeks or months, and that waiting on 
the resolution of any appeals would only lengthen that timeframe.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \29\ See GS2Law comment letter.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

b. Final Rule
    The Commission declines the request to amend Rule 165.14 to permit 
payment of any portion of an award prior to the completion of the 
appeals process for all whistleblower award claims arising from a NCA 
or Related Action.
    Section 23(f)(2) provides that the Commission's determination to 
whom to pay an award and the amount of any award is appealable to the 
appropriate U.S. Court of Appeals. In response to an appeal from a 
whistleblower who received no award from the Commission or who 
disagreed with the amount of a Commission award, a Court of Appeals 
could set aside the Commission's decision to make an award to another 
whistleblower under the same NCA or Related Action if that award 
decision does not meet the applicable standard of review.\30\ This 
possibility makes it prudent for the Commission to refrain from paying 
any portion of an award until the completion of the appeals process for 
all whistleblower award claims arising from an NCA or a Related Action 
as provided in Rule 165.14(b)(2). As a result, the Commission is not 
making any changes to Rule 165.14 in response to the comment.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \30\ 7 U.S.C. 26(f)(3) states that the court shall review the 
determination made by the Commission in accordance with section 706 
of title 5.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Office of Consumer Outreach

a. Amendment
    The office formerly known as the Office of Consumer Outreach has 
changed its name to the Office of Customer Education and Outreach. The 
Commission is renaming the Office in Rule 165.12. Because Rule 165.12 
is a rule of the Commission's ``organization, procedure or practice'' 
the Commission need not present this revision for notice and 
comment.\31\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \31\ See 5 U.S.C. 553.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Conforming and Technical Amendments

a. Proposed Amendments
    To conform to the proposed changes to Rules 165.7 and 165.15, the 
Commission proposed to strike the reference to ``or its delegate'' in 
Rule 165.11 in the undesignated material before paragraph (a).
    The Commission proposed to amend Rule 165.2(i)(2) concerning the 
definition of information that led to a successful enforcement action 
because it contains an erroneous cross-reference. The reference is 
intended to be to 165.2(l) regarding the definition of original source. 
The rule currently refers to paragraph (i) of this section.
    The Commission proposed to make a minor change to the wording of 
Rule 165.3 concerning the procedures for submitting original 
information because it contains an erroneous reference to a two-step 
process. This change makes the language conform to the process 
previously adopted.\32\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \32\ Whistleblower Incentives and Protection, 76 FR at 53183 
(Aug. 25, 2011) (explaining that the rule was adopted with a more 
streamlined process and one less form than the original proposal).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The Commission proposed to amend Rule 165.13(b) concerning appeals 
because it contains an erroneous cross-reference. The reference 
intended is to Rule 165.10 regarding contents of the record, rather 
than Rule 165.9 regarding criteria for determining award amounts.
    The Commission proposed to move and include updated Form TCR and 
Form WB-APP in a new appendix B to part 165. The updated Form TCR and 
Form WB-APP include revisions that previously received information 
collection requirement approval by the Office of Management and 
Budget.\33\ The Commission also proposed revisions to the submission 
instructions portions of the forms to conform to the proposed revisions 
in the part 165 Rules.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \33\ The Form TCR and Form WB-APP OMB Control Number is 3038-
0082. Both forms last received OMB approval on April 8, 2015, with 
an expiration date of April 30, 2018.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Finally, the Commission proposed to make a minor change in the 
wording of current Sec.  165.7(e), in addition to designating current 
paragraph (e) as new paragraph (l).
b. Comments Received
    The Commission received no comments regarding the proposed 
conforming and technical amendments.
c. Final Rules
    The Commission has decided to adopt the conforming and technical 
amendments as proposed.

III. Related Matters

A. Regulatory Flexibility Certification

    The Regulatory Flexibility Act \34\ requires that agencies consider 
whether the rules they propose will have a significant economic impact 
on a substantial number of small entities and, if so, provide a 
regulatory flexibility analysis respecting the impact.\35\ In the 
Commission's Proposing Release, the Chairman, on behalf of the 
Commission, certified that

[[Page 24495]]

a regulatory flexibility analysis is not required because the persons 
that would be subject to the rules--individuals--are not ``small 
entities'' for purposes of the Regulatory Flexibility Act and the rules 
therefore would not have a significant economic impact on a substantial 
number of small entities. The Commission received no comments regarding 
this conclusion.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \34\ 5 U.S.C. 601, et seq.
    \35\ Id.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

B. Paperwork Reduction Act

    The Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA), 44 U.S.C. 3501-3521, imposes 
certain requirements on federal agencies (including the Commission) in 
connection with their conducting or sponsoring any collection of 
information as defined by the PRA. The Commission believes that the 
amendments will not impose new recordkeeping or information collection 
requirements that require approval by the Office of Management and 
Budget under the PRA.

C. Cost-Benefit Considerations

    CEA Section 15(a) requires the Commission to consider the costs and 
benefits of its actions before promulgating a regulation under the CEA 
or issuing certain orders.\36\ Section 15(a) further specifies that the 
costs and benefits shall be evaluated in light of the following five 
factors: (1) Protection of market participants and the public; (2) 
efficiency, competitiveness, and financial integrity of futures 
markets; (3) price discovery; (4) sound risk management practices; and 
(5) other public interest considerations. The Commission considers the 
costs and benefits resulting from its discretionary determinations with 
respect to the Section 15(a) factors. The Commission may in its 
discretion give greater weight to any one of the five enumerated areas 
and could in its discretion determine that, notwithstanding its costs, 
a particular rule is necessary or appropriate to protect the public 
interest or to effectuate any of the provisions or accomplish any of 
the purposes of the CEA.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \36\ 7 U.S.C. 19(a).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Since the basic framework of part 165 remains substantially 
unchanged, the Commission believes that the costs and benefits of the 
rule amendments and the status quo baseline (the current rule), to 
which the rules' costs and benefits are compared, are similar, but with 
certain additional benefits attendant to these amendments.\37\ The Rule 
165.7 amendments will add transparency to the Commission's process of 
deciding whistleblower award claims and will harmonize the Commission's 
rules with those of the SEC. The amendments clarify each step of the 
process that a whistleblower must follow when making an award claim. 
The Commission believes that such transparency and harmonization will 
increase the benefits of the part 165 Rules relative to the benefits of 
the current rules because potential whistleblowers will have greater 
clarity about the claims and awards process and greater assurance that 
retaliation will not be tolerated. The Commission believes this clarity 
and protection will encourage whistleblowers to step forward. Thus, the 
rules should enhance protection of market participants and the public 
as well as market integrity without materially adding to the costs 
attendant to the current regime.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \37\ The Commission believes that there is not likely to be any 
material difference between the amendments and the status quo 
baseline in terms of cost.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The Rule 165.4 and 165.15 amendments assign to the Director of the 
Division of Enforcement the authority to administer the whistleblower 
program and release whistleblower identifying information. Since these 
amendments relate solely to the Commission's allocation of authority 
among its staff, the Commission believes that these changes will impose 
no material costs on market participants or the public. At the same 
time, the Commission believes the protection of market participants and 
the public will be enhanced through a more effective and efficient 
deployment of staff resources.
    The Rule 165.19 and 165.20 amendments clarify the anti-retaliation 
protections available under the Commission's whistleblower program in 
light of the Commission's reconsideration of its authority under 
Section 23(h)(1) in conjunction with Sections 6(c), 6(d), 6b, 6c, and 
23(i) of the CEA. These changes remove any gap in enforcement authority 
between the Commission and the SEC with regard to whistleblower 
protections against retaliation. The Commission believes that these 
changes will impose no material costs on market participants or the 
public. The rules do not impose any new regulatory burden.\38\ To 
comply with the rules, market participants must refrain from engaging 
in conduct that is already subject to private rights of action, or 
including certain provisions waiving rights and remedies or requiring 
arbitration of disputes in employment agreements. The Commission 
further believes that the rules will have a positive effect on 
efficiency, competitiveness, and financial integrity of the markets 
that the Commission regulates through improving detection and 
remediation of potential violations of the CEA and Commission 
regulations. For instance, market participants may be further deterred 
from engaging in violations of the CEA and Commission rules because the 
likelihood of being caught has increased due to improvements to the 
whistleblower program that encourage more whistleblowers to provide 
information to the Commission.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \38\ The Commission believes that the new rule provision 
regarding Commission enforcement does not significantly affect any 
reliance interests because the provision relates to conduct that is 
already prohibited by Section 23 of the CEA.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The Commission believes that price discovery and sound risk 
management practices will not be materially affected by the amendments. 
Also, the Commission has not identified any other relevant public 
interest considerations.
    The Commission invited public comment on its cost-benefit 
considerations, including the Section 15(a) factors described above. 
Commenters were invited to submit any data or other information that 
they had that quantified or qualified the costs and benefits of the 
Proposal. None of the commenters submitted any data or other 
information that quantified or qualified the costs and benefits of the 
proposed rules, nor did they otherwise comment on the cost-benefit 
considerations as stated in the proposed rules.
Alternatives Suggested by Commenters
    The Commission adopts several alternatives and makes certain 
clarifications as suggested by commenters to the proposal:
     After consideration of the comments on Rule 165.2(l), the 
Commission adopts the rule with one change and a correction. The 
Commission is adding foreign futures authorities to the authorities and 
entities to which a claimant may provide information prior to filing a 
Form TCR and retain original source status.
     The Commission clarifies that the 180-day timeframe in 
Rule 165.2(l)(2) relates only to the date on which the Commission will 
consider a whistleblower's original information to have been received. 
Filing a Form TCR more than 180 days after reporting information to 
another authority does not strip a whistleblower of original source 
status or render a whistleblower ineligible for an award.
     The Commission is adopting Rule 165.4(a)(2) as proposed, 
with a minor change. Section 23(h)(2)(C)(i), Rule 165.4(a)(2), and the 
Privacy Act Notice on Form TCR identify for

[[Page 24496]]

whistleblowers the entities with which whistleblower identifying 
information may be shared.
     Section 23(h)(2)(C)(i)(III) limits the self-regulatory 
organizations with which confidential whistleblower information can be 
shared to those self-regulatory organizations that fit within the 
definition in section 3(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.\39\ 
The Commission is making conforming amendments throughout the part 165 
Rules to clarify that a self-regulatory organization is a self-
regulatory organization as defined by section 3(a) of the Securities 
Exchange Act of 1934.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \39\ Infra, footnote 24.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

     The Commission has determined to remove Question E.8 on 
Form TCR. The wording of this question was not consistent with the 
authority granted to the Commission to share whistleblower identifying 
information in Section 23(h)(C)(i) and the language of Rule 
165.4(a)(2). The Privacy Act Notice in Form TCR puts potential 
whistleblowers on notice that the information that they provide to the 
Commission may be shared with other authorities.
     The Commission has decided to adopt Rule 165.20(c) with 
some modification. The anti-retaliation protections in the CEA do not 
extend to all whistleblowers who report internally. Actions that an 
employer took after a whistleblower reported internally but before 
providing information to the Commission may be relevant to whether 
retaliation that is prohibited under Section 23(h)(1) occurred. For 
this reason, the Commission is adding language to Rule 165.20(b) to 
explicitly recognize this possibility.
    The Commission also received alternatives to the final rule from 
commenters that it chooses not to adopt:
     The Commission does not elect to extend the deadline 
beyond 180 days under 165.2(l) to retain status as the original source 
of information after first submitting the information to Congress, any 
federal or state authority, a registered entity, a registered futures 
association, a self-regulatory organization, or to any persons 
described in paragraphs (g)(4) and (5) of Rule 165.2 to be eligible for 
an award. The Commission believes that 180 days provides ample time for 
a whistleblower to provide information to the Commission after 
submitting the information to any of the aforementioned entities or 
authorities.
     The Commission declines a commenter's request that the 
Commission publish NCAs for Related Actions. The Commission believes 
that doing so would be unworkable and burdensome for the Commission. 
Publishing NCAs on all criminal and civil actions that may become 
related actions would require staff to track, monitor, and report on 
many actions that are not Commission actions.
     The Commission has chosen not to further revise Proposed 
Rules 165.10 and 165.13 to not categorically exclude from the record 
pre-decisional and internal deliberative process materials prepared to 
assist the Commission in award determinations. Under Rules 165.10 and 
165.13, all factual materials relied on by Claims Review Staff or the 
Commission in making an award determination will be available to the 
claimant and reviewing court. The Commission believes that pre-
decisional or internal deliberative process materials that are prepared 
to assist the Commission or Claims Review Staff are protected by 
attorney-client privilege as well as attorney work product under well 
settled law. Similarly, the exclusion of any documents or materials 
provided by a third-party that have not been authorized for release by 
the third-party does not deny the claimant due process because these 
materials will not be considered by the Commission or Claims Review 
Staff in reaching a decision on the award claim.
     The Commission declines the request to amend Rule 165.14 
to permit payment of any portion of an award prior to the completion of 
the appeals process for all whistleblower award claims arising from a 
NCA or related action. Section 23(f)(2) provides that the Commission's 
determination to whom to pay an award and the amount of any award is 
appealable to the appropriate U.S. Court of Appeals. In response to an 
appeal from a whistleblower who received no award from the Commission 
or who disagreed with the amount of a Commission award, a Court of 
Appeals could set aside the Commission's decision to make an award to 
another whistleblower under the same NCA or Related Action if that 
award decision does not meet the applicable standard of review.\40\ 
This possibility makes it prudent for the Commission to refrain from 
paying any portion of an award until the completion of the appeals 
process for all whistleblower award claims arising from an NCA or a 
related action as provided in Rule 165.14(b)(2).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \40\ Infra, footnote 30.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

     The Commission does not believe that Commission monitoring 
of the treatment of confidential whistleblower information by a 
receiving authority is necessary. Receiving authorities are bound by 
the same confidentiality provisions as the Commission. The Commission 
makes sure that a receiving authority understands these limitations 
when it shares confidential whistleblower information with them.

D. Antitrust Considerations

    Section 15(b) of the CEA requires the Commission to consider the 
public interests protected by the antitrust laws and to take actions 
involving the least anti-competitive means of achieving the objectives 
of the CEA. The Commission believes that the rules may have a positive 
effect on competition through improving detection, deterrence, and 
remediation of potential violations of the CEA and Commission 
regulations.
    The Commission did not receive any comments on any antitrust 
considerations arising from the proposed amendments.

E. Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act

    Under the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 
1996 (SBREFA), Pub. L. 104-121 (March 29, 1996), as amended by Pub. L. 
110-28 (May 25, 2007), the Commission solicits data to determine 
whether a proposed rule constitutes a ``major'' rule. Under SBREFA, a 
rule is considered ``major'' where, if adopted, it results or is likely 
to result in:
     An annual effect on the economy of $100 million or more 
(either in the form of an increase or a decrease);
     A major increase in costs or prices for consumers or 
individual industries; or
     Significant adverse effects on competition, investment or 
innovation.
    If a rule is ``major,'' its effectiveness will generally be delayed 
for 60 days pending Congressional review.
    The Commission received no comments or data on: The potential 
annual effect on the economy; any increase in costs or prices for 
consumers or individual industries; and any potential effect on 
competition, investment or innovation and the Chairman certifies that 
these amendments do not constitute a ``major rule''.

List of Subjects in 17 CFR Part 165

    Whistleblowing.
    For the reasons set forth in the preamble, the Commodity Futures 
Trading Commission amends 17 CFR part 165 as follows:

PART 165--WHISTLEBLOWER RULES

0
1. The authority citation for part 165 is revised to read as follows:

    Authority:  7 U.S.C. 2, 5, 9, 12a(5), 13a, 13a-1, 13b, and 26.

[[Page 24497]]


0
2. In Sec.  165.2, revise paragraphs (i)(2) and (3), (l)(1)(i), (l)(2), 
and (o) to read as follows:


Sec.  165.2  Definitions.

* * * * *
    (i) * * *
    (2) The whistleblower gave the Commission original information 
about conduct that was already under examination or investigation by 
the Commission, the Congress, any other authority of the federal 
government, a state Attorney General or securities regulatory 
authority, any registered entity, registered futures association, or 
self-regulatory organization (as defined in section 3(a) of the 
Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (15 U.S.C. 78c(a)), foreign futures 
authority, or the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (except in 
cases where the whistleblower was an original source of this 
information as defined in paragraph (l) of this section), and the 
whistleblower's submission significantly contributed to the success of 
the action.
    (3) The whistleblower reported original information through an 
entity's internal whistleblower, legal, or compliance procedures for 
reporting allegations of possible violations of law before or at the 
same time the whistleblower reported them to the Commission; the entity 
later provided the whistleblower's information to the Commission, or 
provided results of an audit or investigation initiated in whole or in 
part in response to information the whistleblower reported to the 
entity; and the information the entity provided to the Commission 
satisfies either paragraph (i)(1) or (2) of this section. Under this 
paragraph (i)(3), the whistleblower must also submit the same 
information to the Commission in accordance with the procedures set 
forth in Sec.  165.3 within 180 days of providing it to the entity.
* * * * *
    (l) * * *
    (1) * * *
    (i) In order to be considered an original source of information 
that the Commission receives from Congress, any other federal, state or 
local authority, a foreign futures authority, any registered entity, 
registered futures association, or any self-regulatory organization (as 
defined in section 3(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (15 
U.S.C. 78c(a)), the whistleblower must have voluntarily given such 
authorities the information within the meaning of this part. In 
determining whether the whistleblower is the original source of 
information, the Commission may seek assistance and confirmation from 
one of the other entities or authorities described in this paragraph 
(l)(1)(i).
* * * * *
    (2) Information first provided to another authority or person. If 
the whistleblower provides information to Congress, any other federal, 
state, or local authority, a foreign futures authority, a registered 
entity, a registered futures association, a self-regulatory 
organization (as defined in section 3(a) of the Securities Exchange Act 
of 1934 (15 U.S.C. 78c(a)), or to any of the persons described in 
paragraphs (g)(4) and (5) of this section, and the whistleblower, 
within 180 days, makes a submission to the Commission pursuant to Sec.  
165.3, as the whistleblower must do in order for the whistleblower to 
be eligible to be considered for an award, then, for purposes of 
evaluating the whistleblower's claim to an award under Sec.  165.7, the 
Commission will consider that the whistleblower provided original 
information as of the date of the whistleblower's original disclosure, 
report, or submission to one of these other authorities or persons. The 
whistleblower must establish the whistleblower's status as the original 
source of such information, as well as the effective date of any prior 
disclosure, report, or submission, to the Commission's satisfaction. 
The Commission may seek assistance and confirmation from the other 
authority or person in making this determination.
* * * * *
    (o) Voluntary submission or voluntarily submitted. (1) The phrase 
``voluntary submission'' or ``voluntarily submitted'' within the 
context of submission of original information to the Commission under 
this part, shall mean the provision of information made prior to any 
request from the Commission, Congress, any other federal or state 
authority, the Department of Justice, a registered entity, a registered 
futures association, or a self-regulatory organization (as defined in 
section 3(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (15 U.S.C. 78c(a)) 
to the whistleblower or anyone representing the whistleblower (such as 
an attorney) about a matter to which the information in the 
whistleblower's submission is relevant. If the Commission or any of 
these other authorities makes a request, inquiry, or demand to the 
whistleblower or the whistleblower's representative first, the 
whistleblower's submission will not be considered voluntary, and the 
whistleblower will not be eligible for an award, even if the 
whistleblower's response is not compelled by subpoena or other 
applicable law. For purposes of this paragraph (o), the whistleblower 
will be considered to have received a request, inquiry or demand if 
documents or information from the whistleblower is within the scope of 
a request, inquiry, or demand that the whistleblower's employer 
receives, unless, after receiving the documents or information from the 
whistleblower, the whistleblower's employer fails to provide the 
whistleblower's documents or information to the requesting authority in 
a timely manner.
    (2) In addition, the whistleblower's submission will not be 
considered voluntary if the whistleblower is under a pre-existing legal 
or contractual duty to report the violations that are the subject of 
the whistleblower's original information to the Commission, Congress, 
any other federal or state authority, the Department of Justice, a 
registered entity, a registered futures association, or a self-
regulatory organization (as defined in section 3(a) of the Securities 
Exchange Act of 1934 (15 U.S.C. 78c(a)), or a duty that arises out of a 
judicial or administrative order.
* * * * *

0
3. Amend Sec.  165.3 as follows:
0
a. Remove the introductory text; and
0
b. Revise paragraphs (a) introductory text and (a)(1).
    The revisions read as follows:

Sec.  165.3  Procedures for submitting original information.

    (a) A whistleblower will need to submit the whistleblower's 
information to the Commission. A whistleblower may submit the 
whistleblower's information:
    (1) By completing and submitting a Form TCR online and submitting 
it electronically through the Commission's Web site at https://www.cftc.gov, or the Commission's Whistleblower Program Web site at 
www.whistleblower.gov; or
* * * * *

0
4. In Sec.  165.4, revise paragraphs (a) introductory text and (a)(1) 
and (2) to read as follows:


Sec.  165.4  Confidentiality.

    (a) In general. Section 23(h)(2) of the Commodity Exchange Act 
requires that the Commission not disclose information that could 
reasonably be expected to reveal the identity of a whistleblower, 
except that the Commission may disclose such information in the 
following circumstances, in accordance with the Privacy Act of 1974 (5 
U.S.C. 552a):
    (1) When disclosure is required to a defendant or respondent in 
connection

[[Page 24498]]

with a public proceeding that the Commission institutes or in another 
public proceeding that is filed by an authority to which the Commission 
provides the information, as described in paragraph (a)(2) of this 
section; or
    (2) When the Commission determines that it is necessary to 
accomplish the purposes of the Commodity Exchange Act and to protect 
customers, it may provide whistleblower information, without the loss 
of its status as confidential whistleblower information in the hands of 
the Commission, to: The Department of Justice; an appropriate 
department or agency of the Federal Government, acting within the scope 
of its jurisdiction; a registered entity, registered futures 
association, or a self-regulatory organization (as defined in section 
3(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (15 U.S.C. 78c(a)); a State 
attorney general in connection with a criminal investigation; any 
appropriate State department or agency, acting within the scope of its 
jurisdiction; or a foreign futures authority; and, as set forth in 
section 23(h)(2)(C) of the Commodity Exchange Act, each such entity is 
required to maintain the information as confidential in accordance with 
the requirements of section 23(h)(2)(A) of the Commodity Exchange Act.
* * * * *

0
5. Revise Sec.  165.5 to read as follows:


Sec.  165.5  Requirements for consideration of an award.

    (a) Subject to the eligibility requirements described in this part, 
the Commission will pay an award to one or more whistleblowers who:
    (1) Provide a voluntary submission to the Commission;
    (2) That contains original information; and
    (3) That leads to the successful resolution of a covered judicial 
or administrative action or successful enforcement of a Related Action 
or both; and
    (b) In order to be eligible, the whistleblower must:
    (1) Have voluntarily provided the Commission original information 
in the form and manner that the Commission requires in Sec.  165.3;
    (2) Have submitted a claim in response to a Notice of Covered 
Action or a final judgment in a Related Action or both;
    (3) Provide the Commission, upon its staff's request, certain 
additional information, including:
    (i) Explanations and other assistance, in the manner and form that 
staff may request, in order that the staff may evaluate the use of the 
information submitted related to the whistleblower's application for an 
award;
    (ii) All additional information in the whistleblower's possession 
that is related to the subject matter of the whistleblower's submission 
related to the whistleblower's application for an award; and
    (iii) Testimony or other evidence acceptable to the staff relating 
to the whistleblower's eligibility for an award; and
    (4) If requested by the Whistleblower Office, enter into a 
confidentiality agreement in a form acceptable to the Whistleblower 
Office, including a provision that a violation of the confidentiality 
agreement may lead to the whistleblower's ineligibility to receive an 
award.
    (c) The Commission may, in its sole discretion, waive any 
procedural requirements based upon a showing of extraordinary 
circumstances.

0
6. In Sec.  165.6, revise paragraph (a)(1) to read as follows:


Sec.  165.6  Whistleblowers ineligible for an award.

    (a) * * *
    (1) To any whistleblower who is, or was at the time the 
whistleblower acquired the original information submitted to the 
Commission, a member, officer, or employee of: the Commission; the 
Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System; the Office of the 
Comptroller of the Currency; the Board of Directors of the Federal 
Deposit Insurance Corporation; the Director of the Office of Thrift 
Supervision; the National Credit Union Administration Board; the 
Securities and Exchange Commission; the Department of Justice; a 
registered entity; a registered futures association; a self-regulatory 
organization (as defined in section 3(a) of the Securities Exchange Act 
of 1934 (15 U.S.C. 78c(a)); or a law enforcement organization;
* * * * *

0
7. Amend Sec.  165.7 as follows:
0
a. Revise the section heading;
0
b. Revise paragraphs (b), (d), and (e); and
0
c. Add paragraphs (f) through (l).
    The revisions and additions read as follows:

Sec.  165.7  Procedures for award applications in Commission actions 
and related actions, and Commission award determinations.

* * * * *
    (b)(1) To file a claim for a whistleblower award, the whistleblower 
must file Form WB-APP, Application for Award for Original Information 
Provided Pursuant to Section 23 of the Commodity Exchange Act. The 
whistleblower must sign this form as the claimant and submit it to the 
Commission by mail or fax to Commodity Futures Trading Commission, 
Three Lafayette Centre, 1155 21st Street NW., Washington, DC 20581, Fax 
(202) 418-5975, or by completing and submitting the Form WB-APP online 
and submitting it electronically through the Commission's Web site at 
https://www.cftc.gov or the Commission's Whistleblower Program Web site 
at https://www.whistleblower.gov.
    (2) The Form WB-APP, including any attachments, must be received by 
the Commission within 90 calendar days of the date of the Notice of 
Covered Action or 90 calendar days following the date of a final 
judgment in a Related Action (or if the final judgment in a Related 
Action was issued prior to the action meeting the definition of Related 
Action, within 90 calendar days following the date the action satisfied 
the definition of Related Action, except in the circumstances described 
in paragraph (b)(3)(ii) of this section). One Form WB-APP may be filed 
in response to both a Notice of Covered Action and final judgment in a 
Related Action if the relevant time periods are applicable.
    (3) If a covered judicial or administrative action and Related 
Action have different final judgment dates or if there is no covered 
judicial or administrative action connected to a Related Action, a 
claimant, who wishes to file a claim for an award in both a covered 
judicial or administrative action and a Related Action, or in a Related 
Action that does not have a connected covered judicial or 
administrative action, must follow one of the following procedures 
depending on that claimant's particular situation.
    (i) If a final judgment imposing monetary sanctions in a Related 
Action has not been entered at the time the claimant submits a claim 
for an award in connection with a covered judicial or administrative 
action, the claimant must submit the claim for the Related Action on 
Form WB-APP within ninety (90) calendar days following the date of 
issuance of a final judgment in the Related Action.
    (ii) If a final judgment in a Related Action has been entered and a 
Notice of Covered Action for a related covered judicial or 
administrative action has not been published, a claimant for an award 
in both the covered judicial or administrative action and Related 
Action may submit the claims for both the Related Action and the 
covered judicial or administrative action within ninety (90) days of 
the date of the Notice

[[Page 24499]]

of Covered Action. The claims may be submitted on the same Form WB-APP.
    (iii) If there is a final judgment in a Related Action that relates 
to a judicial or administrative action brought by the Commission under 
the Commodity Exchange Act that is not a covered judicial or 
administrative action, and therefore there is no Notice of Covered 
Action, a claimant for an award in connection with the Related Action 
must submit the claim in connection with the Related Action on Form WB-
APP within ninety (90) calendar days following either:
    (A) The date of issuance of a final judgment in the Related Action, 
if that date is after the date of issuance of the final judgment in the 
related Commission judicial or administrative action; or
    (B) The date of issuance of the final judgment in the related 
Commission judicial or administrative action, i.e., the date the 
Related Action becomes a Related Action, if the date of issuance of the 
final judgment in the Related Action precedes the final judgment in the 
related Commission judicial or administrative action.
* * * * *
    (d) A claimant may withdraw a Form WB-APP by submitting a written 
request to the Whistleblower Office at any time during the review 
process.
    (e)(1) The Whistleblower Office may issue a Proposed Final 
Disposition for award applications that do not relate to a Notice of 
Covered Action, a final judgment in a Related Action, or a previously 
filed Form TCR without presentation of the award claim to the staff 
designated by the Director of the Division of Enforcement under Sec.  
165.15(a)(2) (``Claims Review Staff''). In such instances, the 
Whistleblower Office will inform the award claimant in writing that the 
claim does not relate to a Notice of Covered Action, a final judgment 
in a Related Action, or a previously filed Form TCR and will be 
rejected unless the claimant provides additional information. The 
claimant will have 30 days from the date of the written notice to 
respond and to correct the identified deficiencies. If the claimant 
does not respond in 30 days or if the response does not include 
information showing that the WB-APP relates to a Notice of Covered 
Action, a final judgment in a Related Action, or a previously filed 
Form TCR the Whistleblower Office will issue a Proposed Final 
Disposition. The claimant's failure to submit a timely response to the 
written notice from the Whistleblower Office will constitute a failure 
to exhaust administrative remedies, and the claimant will be prohibited 
from pursuing an appeal under Sec.  165.13.
    (2) The Whistleblower Office will notify the Claims Review Staff of 
any Proposed Final Disposition under this paragraph (e). Within thirty 
(30) calendar days thereafter, any member of the Claims Review Staff 
may request that the Proposed Final Disposition be reviewed by the 
Claims Review Staff. If no member of the Claims Review Staff requests 
such a review within the 30-day period, then the Proposed Final 
Disposition will become the Final Order of the Commission. In the event 
that a member of the Claims Review Staff requests a review, the Claims 
Review Staff will review the record that the Whistleblower Office 
relied upon in making its determination and either remand to the 
Whistleblower Office for further action or issue a Final Order of the 
Commission, which could consist of the Proposed Final Disposition.
    (f)(1) In connection with each individual covered judicial or 
administrative action or final judgment in a Related Action, for which 
an award application is submitted, once the time for filing any appeals 
of the covered judicial or administrative action or the final judgment 
in the Related Action has expired (or, where an appeal is filed of the 
covered judicial or administrative action, or the final judgment in a 
Related Action, as applicable, and concluded), the Claims Review Staff 
designated under Sec.  165.15(a)(2) will evaluate all timely 
whistleblower award claims submitted on Form WB-APP in response to a 
Notice of Covered Action, referenced in paragraph (a) of this section, 
or final judgment in a Related Action in accordance with the criteria 
set forth in this part.
    (2) The Whistleblower Office may require that the claimant provide 
additional information relating to the claimant's eligibility for an 
award or satisfaction of any of the conditions for an award, as set 
forth in Sec.  165.5(b)(2). The Whistleblower Office may also request 
additional information from the claimant in connection with the claim 
for an award in a Related Action to demonstrate that the claimant 
directly (or through the Commission) voluntarily provided the 
governmental agency, regulatory authority or self-regulatory 
organization the original information that led to the Commission's 
successful covered action, and that the information provided by the 
claimant led to the successful enforcement of the Related Action. The 
Whistleblower Office may also, in its discretion, seek assistance and 
confirmation from the other agency in making this determination.
    (g)(1) Following Claims Review Staff evaluation, the Claims Review 
Staff will issue a Preliminary Determination setting forth a 
preliminary assessment as to whether the claim should be granted or 
denied and, if granted, setting forth the proposed award percentage 
amount. The Whistleblower Office will send a copy of the Preliminary 
Determination to the claimant.
    (2) The claimant may contest the Preliminary Determination made by 
the Claims Review Staff by submitting a written response to the 
Whistleblower Office setting forth the grounds for the claimant's 
objection to either the denial of an award or the proposed amount of an 
award. The response must be in the form and manner that the 
Whistleblower Office shall require. The claimant may also include 
documentation or other evidentiary support for the grounds advanced in 
the claimant's response. The claimant may also request a meeting with 
the Whistleblower Office within the timeframes provided in this 
paragraph (g), however such meetings are not required, and the 
Whistleblower Office may in its sole discretion deny the request.
    (i) Before determining whether to contest a Preliminary 
Determination, the claimant may, within thirty (30) days of the date of 
the Preliminary Determination, request that the Whistleblower Office 
make available for the claimant's review the materials from among those 
set forth in Sec.  165.10 that formed the basis of the Claims Review 
Staff's Preliminary Determination.
    (ii) If the claimant decides to contest the Preliminary 
Determination, the claimant must submit the claimant's written response 
and supporting materials setting forth the grounds for the claimant's 
objection to either the denial of an award or the proposed amount of an 
award within sixty (60) calendar days of the date of the Preliminary 
Determination, or if a request to review materials used to make a 
Preliminary Determination is made pursuant to paragraph (g)(2)(i) of 
this section, then within sixty (60) calendar days of the Whistleblower 
Office making those materials available for the claimant's review. The 
claimant also may request a meeting with the Whistleblower Office 
within those same sixty (60) calendar days. However, such meetings are 
not required and the Whistleblower Office may in its sole discretion 
decline the request.
    (h) If the claimant fails to submit a timely response pursuant to 
paragraph (g) of this section, then the Preliminary Determination will 
become the Final Order of the Commission (except where

[[Page 24500]]

the Preliminary Determination recommended an award, in which case the 
Preliminary Determination will be deemed a Proposed Final Determination 
for purposes of paragraph (j) of this section). The claimant's failure 
to submit a timely response contesting a Preliminary Determination will 
constitute a failure to exhaust administrative remedies, and the 
claimant will be prohibited from pursuing an appeal under Sec.  165.13.
    (i) If the claimant submits a timely response under paragraph (g) 
of this section, then the Claims Review Staff will consider the issues 
and grounds advanced in the claimant's response, along with any 
supporting documentation the claimant provided, and will make its 
Proposed Final Determination.
    (j) The Whistleblower Office will notify the Commission of each 
Proposed Final Determination. Within thirty (30) calendar days 
thereafter, any Commissioner may request that the Proposed Final 
Determination be reviewed by the Commission. If no Commissioner 
requests such a review within the 30-day period, then the Proposed 
Final Determination will become the Final Order of the Commission. In 
the event a Commissioner requests a review, the Commission will review 
the record that the staff relied upon in making its determinations, 
including the claimant's submissions to the Whistleblower Office, and 
issue its Final Order.
    (k) A Preliminary Determination, Proposed Final Disposition, or a 
Proposed Final Determination may be issued only after a review for 
legal sufficiency by the Office of the General Counsel.
    (l) The Office of the Secretariat will serve the claimant with the 
Final Order of the Commission.

0
8. In Sec.  165.9, revise the introductory text to read as follows:


Sec.  165.9  Criteria for determining amount of award.

    The determination of the amount of an award shall be in the 
discretion of the Commission. This discretion shall be exercised as 
prescribed by Sec.  165.7.
* * * * *

0
9. Amend Sec.  165.10 as follows:
0
a. Revise the section heading;
0
b. Remove the word ``and'' at the end of paragraph (a)(6);
0
c. Remove the period at the end of paragraph (a)(7) and add a semicolon 
in its place;
0
d. Add paragraphs (a)(8) and (9); and
0
e. Revise paragraph (b).
    The revisions and additions read as follows:


Sec.  165.10  Contents of record for award determination.

    (a) * * *
    (8) With respect to an award claim involving a Related Action, any 
statements or other information that an entity provides or identifies 
in connection with an award determination, provided the entity has 
authorized the Commission to share the information with the claimant. 
(Neither the Commission nor the Claims Review Staff may rely upon 
information that the entity has not authorized the Commission to share 
with the applicant); and
    (9) Any other documents or materials including sworn declarations 
from third-parties that are received or obtained by the Whistleblower 
Office to assist the Commission resolve the applicant's award 
application, including information related to the claimant's 
eligibility. (Neither the Commission nor the Claims Review Staff may 
rely upon information that a third party has not authorized the 
Commission to share with the claimant).
    (b) The rules in this part do not entitle a claimant to obtain from 
the Commission any materials (including any pre-decisional or internal 
deliberative process materials that are prepared to assist the 
Commission or Claims Review Staff in deciding the claim) other than 
those listed in paragraph (a) of this section. The Whistleblower Office 
may make redactions as necessary to comply with any statutory 
restrictions, to protect the Commission's law enforcement and 
regulatory functions, and to comply with requests for confidential 
treatment from other law enforcement and regulatory authorities.

0
10. Revise Sec.  165.11 to read as follows:


Sec.  165.11  Awards based upon related actions.

    (a) Provided that a whistleblower or whistleblowers comply with the 
requirements in Sec. Sec.  165.3, 165.5 and 165.7, and pursuant to 
Sec.  165.8, the Commission may grant an award based on the amount of 
monetary sanctions collected in a ``Related Action'' or ``Related 
Actions'', where:
    (1) A ``Related Action'' is a judicial or administrative action 
that is brought by:
    (i) The Department of Justice;
    (ii) An appropriate department or agency of the Federal Government, 
acting within the scope of its jurisdiction;
    (iii) A registered entity, registered futures association, or self-
regulatory organization (as defined in section 3(a) of the Securities 
Exchange Act of 1934 (15 U.S.C. 78c(a));
    (iv) A State criminal or appropriate civil agency, acting within 
the scope of its jurisdiction; or
    (v) A foreign futures authority; and
    (2) The ``Related Action'' is based on the original information 
that the whistleblower voluntarily submitted to the Commission and led 
to a successful resolution of the Commission judicial or administrative 
action.
    (b) The Commission will not make an award to a claimant for a final 
judgment in a Related Action if the claimant has already been granted 
an award by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for that same 
action pursuant to its whistleblower award program under section 21F of 
the Securities Exchange Act (15 U.S.C. 78a et seq.). If the SEC has 
previously denied an award to the claimant for a judgment in a Related 
Action, the whistleblower will be precluded from relitigating any 
issues before the Commission that the SEC resolved against the claimant 
as part of the award denial.

0
11. In Sec.  165.12, revise paragraph (c) to read as follows:


Sec.  165.12  Payment of awards from the Fund, financing of customer 
education initiatives, and deposits and credits to the Fund.

* * * * *
    (c) Office of Customer Education and Outreach. The Commission shall 
undertake and maintain customer education initiatives through its 
Office of Customer Education and Outreach. The initiatives shall be 
designed to help customers protect themselves against fraud or other 
violations of the Commodity Exchange Act, or the rules or regulations 
thereunder. The Commission shall fund the initiatives and may utilize 
funds deposited into the Fund during any fiscal year in which the 
beginning (October 1) balance of the Fund is greater than $10,000,000. 
The Commission shall budget, on an annual basis, the amount used to 
finance customer education initiatives, taking into consideration the 
balance of the Fund.

0
12. Revise Sec.  165.13 to read as follows:


Sec.  165.13  Appeals.

    (a) Any Final Order of the Commission relating to a whistleblower 
award determination, including whether, to whom, or in what amount to 
make whistleblower awards, may be appealed to the appropriate court of 
appeals of the United States not more than 30 days after the Final 
Order of the Commission is issued, provided that administrative 
remedies have been exhausted.

[[Page 24501]]

    (b) The record on appeal shall consist of:
    (1) The Contents of Record for Award Determinations, as set forth 
in Sec.  165.10. The record on appeal shall not include any pre-
decisional or internal deliberative process materials that are prepared 
to assist the Commission or the Claims Review Staff in deciding the 
claim (including staff's draft Preliminary Determination or any 
Proposed Final Determination or staff's draft final determination); and
    (2) The Preliminary Determination and the Final Order of the 
Commission, as set forth in Sec.  165.7.

0
13. Revise Sec.  165.15 to read as follows:


Sec.  165.15  Administering the whistleblower program.

    (a) Specific authorities--(1) Payments, deposits, and credits. The 
Executive Director is authorized to deposit into or credit collected 
monetary sanctions to the Fund, and to make payment of awards 
therefrom, with the concurrence of the General Counsel and the Director 
of the Division of Enforcement, or of their respective designees.
    (2) Designation of claims review staff. The Claims Review Staff 
referenced in Sec.  165.7 shall be composed of no fewer than three and 
no more than five staff members from any of the Commission's Offices or 
Divisions (except the Office of General Counsel) who have not had 
direct involvement in the underlying enforcement action, as designated 
by the Director of the Division of Enforcement in consultation with the 
Executive Director. The Claims Review Staff will always include at 
least one staff member who does not work in the Division of 
Enforcement.
    (3) Disclosure of whistleblower identifying information. The 
Director of the Division of Enforcement is authorized on behalf of the 
Commission to exercise its discretion to disclose whistleblower 
identifying information under Sec.  165.4(a).
    (b) General authority to administer the program. The Director of 
the Division of Enforcement shall have general authority to administer 
the whistleblower program except as otherwise provided under this part.

0
14. Revise Sec.  165.19 to read as follows:


Sec.  165.19  Nonenforceability of certain provisions waiving rights 
and remedies or requiring arbitration of disputes.

    (a) Non-waiver. The rights and remedies provided for in this part 
may not be waived by any agreement, policy, form, or condition of 
employment, including by a predispute arbitration agreement. No 
predispute arbitration agreement shall be valid or enforceable if the 
agreement requires arbitration of a dispute arising under this part.
    (b) Protected communications. No person may take any action to 
impede an individual from communicating directly with the Commission's 
staff about a possible violation of the Commodity Exchange Act, 
including by enforcing, or threatening to enforce, a confidentiality 
agreement or predispute arbitration agreement with respect to such 
communications.

0
15. Add Sec.  165.20 to read as follows:


Sec.  165.20  Whistleblower anti-retaliation protections.

    (a) In general. No employer may discharge, demote, suspend, 
directly or indirectly threaten or harass, or in any other manner 
discriminate against, a whistleblower in the terms and conditions of 
employment because of any lawful act done by the whistleblower--
    (1) In providing information to the Commission in accordance with 
this part; or
    (2) In assisting in any investigation or judicial or administrative 
action of the Commission based upon or related to such information.
    (b) Anti-retaliation enforcement. Section 23(h)(1)(A) of the 
Commodity Exchange Act (7 U.S.C. 26(h)(1)), including the rules in this 
part promulgated thereunder, shall be enforceable in an action or 
proceeding brought by the Commission including where retaliation is in 
response to a whistleblower providing information to the Commission 
after reporting the information through internal whistleblower, legal 
or compliance procedures.
    (c) Protections apply regardless of non-qualification. The anti-
retaliation protections apply whether or not the whistleblower 
satisfies the requirements, procedures, and conditions to qualify for 
an award.

0
16. Revise appendix A to part 165 to read as follows:

Appendix A to Part 165--Guidance With Respect to the Protection of 
Whistleblowers Against Retaliation

    (a) In general. Section 23(h)(1) of Commodity Exchange Act 
prohibits employers from engaging in retaliation against 
whistleblowers. A violation of this provision could be addressed by a 
Commission enforcement action, or a lawsuit by an individual. Section 
23(h)(1)(B) provides for a federal cause of action brought by the 
whistleblower against the employer, which must be filed in the 
appropriate district court of the United States within two (2) years of 
the employer's retaliatory act, and potential relief for prevailing 
whistleblowers, including reinstatement, back pay, and compensation for 
other expenses, including reasonable attorney's fees.
    (b) Enforcement--(1) Private cause of action. (i) An individual who 
alleges discharge, demotion, suspension, direct or indirect threats or 
harassment, or any other manner of discrimination in violation of 
section 23(h)(1)(A) of the Commodity Exchange Act may bring an action 
under section 23(h)(1)(B) of the Commodity Exchange Act in the 
appropriate district court of the United States for the relief provided 
in section 23(h)(1)(C) of the Commodity Exchange Act, unless the 
individual who is alleging discharge or other discrimination in 
violation of section 23(h)(1)(A) of the Commodity Exchange Act is an 
employee of the Federal Government, in which case the individual shall 
only bring an action under section 1221 of title 5, United States Code.
    (ii) Subpoenas. A subpoena requiring the attendance of a witness at 
a trial or hearing conducted under section 23(h)(1)(B)(ii) of the 
Commodity Exchange Act may be served at any place in the United States.
    (iii) Statute of limitations. A private cause of action under 
section 23(h)(1)(B) of the Commodity Exchange Act may not be brought 
more than 2 years after the date on which the violation reported in 
section 23(h)(1)(A) of the Commodity Exchange Act is committed.
    (iv) Relief. Relief for an individual prevailing in an action 
brought under section 23(h)(1)(B) of the Commodity Exchange Act shall 
include--
    (A) Reinstatement with the same seniority status that the 
individual would have had, but for the discrimination;
    (B) The amount of back pay otherwise owed to the individual, with 
interest; and
    (C) Compensation for any special damages sustained as a result of 
the discharge or discrimination, including litigation costs, expert 
witness fees, and reasonable attorney's fees.
    (2) Commission authority to bring action. The Commission may bring 
an enforcement action against an employer that retaliates against a 
whistleblower by discharge, demotion, suspension, direct or indirect 
threats or harassment, or any other manner of discrimination.

0
17. Add appendix B to part 165 to read as follows:

Appendix B to Part 165--Form TCR and Form WP-APP

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Submission Procedures

    Questions concerning this form may be directed to Commodity Futures 
Trading Commission, Whistleblower Office, Three Lafayette Centre, 1155 
21st Street NW., Washington, DC 20581.
     If you are submitting information for the CFTC's 
whistleblower award program, you must submit your information using 
this Form TCR.
     You may submit this form electronically, through the Web 
portal found on the CFTC's Web site at https://www.whistleblower.gov. 
You may also print this form and submit it by mail to Commodity Futures 
Trading Commission, Whistleblower Office, Three Lafayette Centre, 1155 
21st Street, NW., Washington, DC 20581, or by facsimile to (202) 418-
5975.
     You have the right to submit information anonymously. If 
you do not submit anonymously, please note that the CFTC is required by 
law to maintain the confidentiality of any information which could 
reasonably identify you, and will only reveal such information in 
limited and specifically-defined circumstances. See 7 U.S.C. 26(h)(2); 
17 CFR 165.4. However, in order to receive a whistleblower award, you 
will need to be identified to select CFTC staff for a final eligibility 
determination, and in unusual circumstances, you may need to be 
identified publicly for trial. You should therefore provide some means 
for the CFTC's staff to contact you, such as a telephone number or an 
email address.

Instructions for Completing Form TCR

General

    All references to ``you'' and ``your'' are intended to mean the 
complainant.
Section A: Tell Us About Yourself
    Questions 1-14: Please provide the following information about 
yourself:
[ballot] last name, first name and middle initial;
[ballot] complete address, including city, state and zip code;
[ballot] telephone number and, if available, an alternate number where 
you can be reached;
[ballot] your email address (to facilitate communications, we strongly 
encourage you to provide an email address, especially if you are filing 
anonymously);
[ballot] your preferred method of communication; and
[ballot] your occupation.
Section B: Your Attorney's Information
    Complete this section only if you are represented by an attorney in 
this matter.
    Questions 1-10: Provide the following information about your 
attorney:
[ballot] attorney's name;
[ballot] firm name;
[ballot] complete address, including city, state and zip code;
[ballot] telephone number and fax number; and
[ballot] email address.
Section C: Tell Us Who You Are Complaining About
    Question 1-2: Choose one of the following that best describes the 
individual's profession or the type of entity to which your complaint 
relates:
    For Individuals: accountant, analyst, associated person, attorney, 
auditor, broker, commodity trading advisor, commodity pool operator, 
compliance officer, employee, executing broker, executive officer or 
director, financial planner, floor broker, floor trader, trader, 
unknown or other (specify).
    For Entities: bank, commodity pool, commodity pool operator, 
commodity trading advisor, futures commission merchant, hedge fund, 
introducing broker, major swap participant, retail foreign exchange 
dealer, swap dealer, unknown or other (specify).
Questions 3-12: For each individual and/or entity, provide the 
following information, if known:
[ballot] full name;
[ballot] complete address, including city, state and zip code;
[ballot] telephone number;
[ballot] email address; and
[ballot] internet address, if applicable.
    Questions 13: If the firm or individual you are complaining about 
has custody or control of your investment, identify whether you have 
had difficulty contacting that firm or individual.
    Question 14: Identify if you are, or were, associated with the 
individual or firm you are complaining about. If yes, describe how you 
are, or were, associated with the individual or firm you are 
complaining about.
    Question 15: Identify the initial form of contact between you and 
the person against whom you are filing this complaint.
Section D: Tell Us About Your Complaint
    Question 1: State the date (mm/dd/yyyy) that the alleged conduct 
occurred or began.
    Question 2: Identify if the conduct is on-going.
    Question 3: Choose the option that you believe best describes the 
nature of your complaint. If you are alleging more

[[Page 24514]]

than one violation, please list all that you believe may apply.
    Question 4: Select the type of product or instrument you are 
complaining about.
    Question 5: If applicable, please name the product or instrument. 
If yes, please describe.
    Question 6: Identify whether you have suffered a monetary loss. If 
yes, please describe.
    Question 7: Identify if the individual or firm you are complaining 
about acknowledged their fault.
    Question 8: Indicate whether you have taken any other action 
regarding your complaint, including whether you complained to the CFTC, 
another regulator, a law enforcement agency, or any other agency or 
organization, or initiated legal action, mediation, arbitration or any 
other action.
    If you answered yes, provide details, including the date on which 
you took the action(s) described, the name of the person or entity to 
whom you directed any report or complaint, and contact information for 
the person or entity, if known, and the complete case name, case number 
and forum of any legal action you have taken.
    Question 9: State in detail all facts pertinent to the alleged 
violation. Explain why you believe the facts described constitute a 
violation of the Commodity Exchange Act.
    Question 10: Describe all supporting materials in your possession 
and the availability and location of any additional supporting 
materials not in your possession.
Section E: Whistleblower Program
    Question 1: Describe how you obtained the information that supports 
your allegations. If any information was obtained from an attorney or 
in a communication where an attorney was present, identify such 
information with as much particularity as possible. In addition, if any 
information was obtained from a public source, identify the source with 
as much particularity as possible.
    Question 2: Identify any documents or other information in your 
submission on this Form TCR that you believe could reasonably be 
expected to reveal your identity. Explain the basis for your belief 
that your identity would be revealed if the documents or information 
were disclosed to a third party.
    Question 3: State whether you or your attorney have had any prior 
communication(s) with the CFTC concerning this matter.
    If you answered ``yes'', identify the CFTC staff member(s) with 
whom you or your attorney communicated.
    Question 4: Indicate whether you or your attorney have provided the 
information you are providing to the CFTC to any other agency or 
organization, or whether any other agency or organization has requested 
the information or related information from you.
    If you answered ``yes'', provide details and the name and contact 
information of the point of contact at the other agency or 
organization, if known.
    Question 5: Indicate whether your complaint relates to an entity of 
which you are, or were in the past, an officer, director, counsel, 
employee, consultant or contractor.
    If you answered ``yes'', state whether you have reported this 
violation to your supervisor, compliance office, whistleblower hotline, 
ombudsman, or any other available mechanism at the entity for reporting 
violations. Please provide details, including the date on which you 
took the action.
    Question 6: Indicate whether you have taken any other action 
regarding your complaint, including whether you complained to the CFTC, 
another regulator, a law enforcement agency, or any other agency or 
organization, or initiated legal action, mediation, arbitration or any 
other action.
    If you answered ``yes'', provide details, including the date on 
which you took the action(s) described, the name of the person or 
entity to whom you directed any report or complaint, and contact 
information for the person or entity, if known, and the complete case 
name, case number and forum of any legal action you have taken.
    Question 7: Provide any additional information you think may be 
relevant.
Section F: Whistleblower Eligibility Requirements and Other Information
    Question 1: State whether you are currently, or were at the time 
that you acquired the original information that you are submitting to 
the CFTC, a member, officer or employee of: The CFTC; the Board of 
Governors of the Federal Reserve System; the Office of the Comptroller 
of the Currency; the Board of Directors of the Federal Deposit 
Insurance Corporation; the Director of the Office of Thrift 
Supervision; the National Credit Union Administration Board; the 
Securities and Exchange Commission; the Department of Justice; a 
registered entity; a registered futures association; a self-regulatory 
organization (as defined in 3(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 
(15 U.S.C. 78c(a)); a law enforcement organization; or a foreign 
regulatory authority or law enforcement organization.
    Question 2: State whether you are providing the information 
pursuant to a cooperation agreement with the CFTC or with another 
agency or organization.
    Question 3: State whether you are providing this information before 
you (or anyone representing you) received any request, inquiry or 
demand that relates to the subject matter of this submission (i) from 
the CFTC, (ii) in connection with an investigation, inspection or 
examination by any registered entity, registered futures association or 
self-regulatory organization (as defined in 3(a) of the Securities 
Exchange Act of 1934 (15 U.S.C. 78c(a)), or (iii) in connection with an 
investigation by the Congress, or any other federal or state authority.
    Question 4: State whether you are currently a subject or target of 
a criminal investigation, or whether you have been convicted of a 
criminal violation, in connection with the information you are 
submitting to the CFTC.
    Question 5: State whether you acquired the information you are 
providing to the CFTC from any individual described in Questions 1 
through 4 of this section.
    Question 6: If you answered yes to any of Questions 1 through 5, 
please provide details.
Section G: Privacy Notice and Whistleblower's Declaration
    You must sign this Declaration if you are submitting this 
information pursuant to the CFTC whistleblower program and wish to be 
considered for an award. If you are submitting your information using 
the electronic version of Form TCR through the CFTC's web portal, you 
must check the box to agree with the declaration. If you are submitting 
your information anonymously, you must still sign this Declaration 
(using the term ``anonymous'') or check the box as appropriate, and, if 
you are represented by an attorney, you must provide your attorney with 
the original of this signed form, or maintain a copy for your own 
records.
Section H: Counsel Certification
    If you are submitting this information pursuant to the CFTC 
whistleblower program and you are doing so anonymously through an 
attorney, your attorney must sign the Counsel Certification Section. If 
your attorney is submitting your information using the electronic 
version of Form TCR through the CFTC's web portal, he/she must check 
the box to agree with the

[[Page 24515]]

certification. If you are represented in this matter but you are not 
submitting your information pursuant to the CFTC whistleblower program, 
your attorney does not need to sign this Certification or check the 
box.
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Privacy Act Statement

    This notice is given under the Privacy Act of 1974. The Privacy Act 
requires that the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) inform 
individuals of the following when asking for information. The 
solicitation of this information is authorized under the Commodity 
Exchange Act, 7 U.S.C. 1 et seq. The information provided will enable 
the CFTC to determine the whistleblower award claimant's eligibility 
for payment of an award pursuant to Section 23 of the Commodity 
Exchange Act and Part 165 of the CFTC's regulations. This information 
will be used to investigate and prosecute violations of the Commodity 
Exchange Act and the CFTC's regulations. This information may be 
disclosed to federal, state, local or foreign agencies or other 
authorities responsible for investigating, prosecuting, enforcing or 
implementing laws, rules or regulations implicated by the information 
consistent with the confidentiality requirements set forth in Section 
23 of the Commodity Exchange Act and Part 165 of the CFTC's 
regulations. The information will be maintained and additional 
disclosures may be made in accordance with System of Records Notices 
CFTC-49, ``Whistleblower Records'' (exempted), CFTC-10, ``Investigatory 
Records'' (exempted), and CFTC-16, ``Enforcement Case Files.'' The CFTC 
requests the last four digits of the claimant's Social Security Number 
for use as an individual identifier to administer and manage the 
whistleblower award program. Executive Order 9397 (November 22, 1943) 
allows federal agencies to use the Social Security Number as an 
individual identifier. Furnishing the information is voluntary. 
However, if an individual is providing information for the 
whistleblower award program, not providing required information may 
result in the individual not being eligible for award consideration.
    Questions concerning this form may be directed to Commodity Futures 
Trading Commission, Whistleblower Office, Three Lafayette Centre, 1155 
21st Street NW., Washington, DC 20581.

Submission Procedures

     This form must be used by persons making a claim for a 
whistleblower award in connection with information provided to the 
CFTC, or to another agency or organization in a related action. In 
order to be deemed eligible for an award, you must meet all the 
requirements set forth in Section 23 of the Commodity Exchange Act and 
Part 165 of the CFTC's regulations.
     You must sign the Form WB-APP as the claimant. If you wish 
to submit the Form WB-APP anonymously, you must do so through an 
attorney, your attorney must sign the Counsel Certification Section of 
the Form WB-APP that is submitted to the CFTC, and you must give your 
attorney your original signed Form WB-APP so that it can be produced to 
the CFTC upon request.
     During the whistleblower award claim process, your 
identity must be verified in a form and manner that is acceptable to 
the CFTC prior to the payment of any award.
    [cir] If you are filing your claim in connection with information 
that you provided to the CFTC, then your Form WB-APP, and any 
attachments thereto, must be received by the CFTC within ninety (90) 
days of the date of the Notice of Covered Action, or the date of a 
final

[[Page 24520]]

judgment in a related action to which the claim relates.
    [cir] If you are filing your claim in connection with information 
that you provided to another agency or organization in a related 
action, then your Form WB-APP, and any attachments thereto, must be 
received by the CFTC as follows:
     If a final order imposing monetary sanctions has been 
entered in a related action at the time that you submit your claim for 
an award in connection with a CFTC action, you may submit your claim 
for an award in that related action on the same Form WB-APP that you 
use for the CFTC action.
     If a final order imposing monetary sanctions in a related 
action has not been entered at the time that you submit your claim for 
an award in connection with a CFTC action, you must submit your claim 
on Form WB-APP within ninety (90) days of the issuance of a final order 
imposing sanctions in the related action.
     If a final order imposing monetary sanctions in a related 
action relates to a judicial or administrative action brought by the 
Commission under the Commodity Exchange Act that is not a covered 
judicial or administrative action, and therefore there would not be a 
Notice of Covered Action, you must submit your claim on Form WB-APP for 
an award in connection with the related action within ninety (90) 
calendar days following either (1) the date of issuance of a final 
order in the related action, if that date is after the date of issuance 
of the final judgment in the related Commission judicial or 
administrative action; or (2) the date of issuance of the final 
judgment in the related Commission judicial or administrative action, 
i.e., the date the related action becomes a related action, if the date 
of issuance of the final order in the related action precedes the final 
judgment in the related Commission judicial or administrative action.
     To submit your Form WB-APP, you may print it and either 
submit it by mail to Commodity Futures Trading Commission, 
Whistleblower Office, Three Lafayette Centre, 1155 21st Street NW., 
Washington, DC 20581, or by facsimile to (202) 418-5975. You also may 
submit this form electronically, through the web portal found on the 
CFTC's Web site at https://www.cftc.gov, which is also accessible from 
the CFTC Whistleblower Program Web site at www.whistleblower.gov.

Instructions for Completing Form WB-APP

General

    All references to ``you'' and ``your'' are intended to mean the 
whistleblower award claimant.
Section A: Tell Us About Yourself
Questions 1-3: Please provide the following information about yourself:
     last name, first name, middle initial and the last four 
digits of your Social Security Number;
     complete address, including city, state and zip code;
     telephone number and, if available, an alternate number 
where you can be reached; and
     your email address (to facilitate communications, we 
strongly encourage you to provide an email address, especially if you 
are making your claim anonymously).
Section B: Your Attorney's Information
    Complete this section only if you are represented by an attorney in 
this matter. Questions 1-4: Provide the following information about 
your attorney:
     attorney's name;
     firm name;
     complete address, including city, state and zip code;
     telephone number and fax number; and
     email address.
Section C: Tell Us About Your Tip or Complaint
    Question 1a: Indicate the manner in which you submitted your 
original information to the CFTC.
    Question 1b: Provide the date on which you submitted your original 
information to the CFTC.
    Question 2a: State whether you filed a CFTC Form TCR.
    Question 2b: If you filed a CFTC Form TCR, provide the Form's 
number.
    Question 2c: If you filed a CFTC Form TCR, provide the date on 
which you filed the Form.
    Question 3: Provide the name(s) of the individual(s) and/or 
entity(s) to which your tip or complaint relates.
Section D: Notice of Covered Action
    The process for making a claim for a whistleblower award for a CFTC 
action begins with the publication of a ``Notice of Covered Action'' on 
the CFTC's Web site. This Notice is published whenever a judicial or 
administrative action brought by the CFTC results in the imposition of 
monetary sanctions exceeding $1,000,000. The Notice is published on the 
CFTC's Web site subsequent to the entry of a final judgment or order in 
the action that by itself, or collectively with other judgments or 
orders previously entered in the action, exceeds the $1,000,000 
threshold required for a whistleblower to be potentially eligible for 
an award. The CFTC will not contact whistleblower claimants directly as 
to Notices of Covered Actions; prospective claimants should monitor the 
CFTC Web site for such Notices.
    Question 1: Provide the date of the Notice of Covered Action to 
which this claim relates.
    Question 2: Provide the notice number of the Notice of Covered 
Action.
    Question 3a: Provide the case name referenced in the Notice of 
Covered Action.
    Question 3b: Provide the case number referenced in the Notice of 
Covered Action.
Section E: Claims Pertaining to Related Actions
    Question 1: Provide the name of the agency or organization to which 
you provided your information.
    Question 2: Provide the name and contact information for your point 
of contact at the agency or organization, if known.
    Question 3a: Provide the date on which you provided your 
information to the agency or organization referenced in Question 1 of 
this section.
    Question 3b: Provide the date on which the agency or organization 
referenced in Question 1 of this section filed the related action that 
was based upon the information that you provided.
    Question 4a: Provide the case name of the related action.
    Question 4b: Provide the case number of the related action.
Section F: Eligibility Requirements and Other Information
    Question 1: State whether you are currently, or were at the time 
that you acquired the original information that you submitted to the 
CFTC, a member, officer or employee of: The CFTC; the Board of 
Governors of the Federal Reserve System; the Office of the Comptroller 
of the Currency; the Board of Directors of the Federal Deposit 
Insurance Corporation; the Director of the Office of Thrift 
Supervision; the National Credit Union Administration Board; the 
Securities and Exchange Commission; the Department of Justice; a 
registered entity; a registered futures association; a self-regulatory 
organization; a law enforcement organization; or a foreign regulatory 
authority or law enforcement organization.

[[Page 24521]]

    Question 2: State whether you provided the information that you 
submitted to the CFTC pursuant to a cooperation agreement with the 
CFTC, or with any other agency or organization.
    Question 3: State whether you provided this information before you 
(or anyone representing you) received any request, inquiry or demand 
that relates to the subject matter of your submission (i) from the 
CFTC, (ii) in connection with an investigation, inspection or 
examination by any registered entity, registered futures association or 
self-regulatory organization, or (iii) in connection with an 
investigation by the Congress, or any other federal or state authority.
    Question 4: State whether you are currently a subject or target of 
a criminal investigation, or whether you have been convicted of a 
criminal violation, in connection with the information that you 
submitted to the CFTC and upon which your application for an award is 
based.
    Question 5: State whether you acquired the information that you 
provided to the CFTC from any individual described in Questions 1 
through 4 of this section.
    Question 6: If you answered yes to any of Questions 1 through 5 of 
this section, please provide details.
Section G: Entitlement to Award
    This section is optional. Use this section to explain the basis for 
your belief that you are entitled to an award in connection with your 
submission of information to the CFTC, or to another agency in 
connection with a related action. Specifically, address why you believe 
that you voluntarily provided the CFTC with original information that 
led to the successful enforcement of a judicial or administrative 
action filed by the CFTC, or a related action. Refer to Sec.  165.9 of 
the CFTC's regulations for further information concerning the relevant 
award criteria.
    Section 23(c)(1)(B) of the Commodity Exchange Act and Sec.  
165.9(a) of the CFTC's regulations require the CFTC to consider the 
following factors in determining the amount of an award: (1) The 
significance of the information provided by a whistleblower to the 
success of the CFTC action or related action; (2) the degree of 
assistance provided by the whistleblower and any legal representative 
of the whistleblower in the CFTC action or related action; (3) the 
programmatic interest of the CFTC in deterring violations of the 
Commodity Exchange Act (including regulations under the Act) by making 
awards to whistleblowers who provide information that leads to the 
successful enforcement of such laws; (4) whether the award otherwise 
enhances the CFTC's ability to enforce the Commodity Exchange Act, 
protect customers, and encourage the submission of high quality 
information from whistleblowers; and (5) potential adverse incentives 
from oversize awards. Address these factors in your response as well.
Section H: Claimant's Declaration
    You must sign this Declaration if you are submitting this claim 
pursuant to the CFTC whistleblower program and wish to be considered 
for an award. If you are submitting your claim anonymously, you must do 
so through an attorney, and you must provide your attorney with your 
original signed Form WB-APP.
Section I: Counsel Certification
    If you are submitting this claim pursuant to the CFTC whistleblower 
program anonymously, you must do so through an attorney, and your 
attorney must sign the Counsel Certification Section.


    Issued in Washington, DC, on May 22, 2017, by the Commission.

Christopher J. Kirkpatrick,
Secretary of the Commission.

    Note: The following appendix will not appear in the Code of 
Federal Regulations.

Appendix to Whistleblower Awards Process--Commission Voting Summary

    On this matter, Acting Chairman Giancarlo and Commissioner Bowen 
voted in the affirmative. No Commissioner voted in the negative.
[FR Doc. 2017-10801 Filed 5-26-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6351-01-P