Bart Chilton, Commodities Futures Trading Commissioner, says that the success of the whistleblower provisions of the False Claims Act should inform CFTC whistleblower proposals.
Chilton admits that whistleblower provisions were new to his agency and that their proposed rules “missed the mark Congress intended us to hit.” After receiving responses from qui tam attorneys and others, he has some thoughts on what the new rules should include.
Chilton’s list of what the final rule should contain definitely hits the mark. He says there must be a guaranteed, non-discretionary award if the proffered information results in a government recovery. He says that the CFTC mustn’t impede whistleblowing by requiring compliance with all company internal procedures before filing a whistleblower claim. And Chilton recognizes that disqualifying any whistleblower who has compliance, supervisory or audit responsibilities is “such a vast restriction as to render the entire new authority ineffectual.”
A CFTC commissioner who gets the value of whistleblowers and wants to implement a “robust and active whistleblower program” is encouraging news.