In an article for Forbes.com, Phillips & Cohen partner Erika Kelton says that changes at the SEC will energize enforcement and help whistleblower cases.
The Securities and Exchange Commission’s enforcement efforts are expected to get a jolt of energy based on two recent events: the nomination of Gary Gensler to chair the SEC and the commission’s decision to grant senior enforcement staff stronger investigative authority.
Those changes combined with the effectiveness of the SEC whistleblower program could supercharge SEC enforcement.
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Meanwhile in another promising sign, the SEC empowered its senior enforcement staff to issue subpoenas and take sworn testimony, an important step for ramping up enforcement and an encouraging move for SEC whistleblowers.
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The developments at the SEC should inspire whistleblowers’ confidence in the SEC, encouraging more to come forward. They are an indispensable driver of SEC investigations and enforcement.
With expanded authority and a more enforcement-oriented outlook, whistleblowers’ reports may now develop into SEC investigations more frequently and more quickly, and yield more enforcement actions.
Under Dodd-Frank and the rules of the SEC whistleblower program, SEC whistleblowers are entitled to protection against job retaliation, confidentiality and rewards.
Read the entire article, “SEC Moves Signal More Aggressive Enforcement Under Biden,” on Forbes.com