© Charles Platiau / Reuters
An unnamed whistleblower responsible for exposing Monsanto's shady deals involving Roundup products to the federal government has been awarded over $20 million by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), in its second biggest payout in history.
The SEC Office of the Whistleblower Program was created by Congress in 2011 to provide monetary incentives for individuals to come forward and report possible violations of the federal securities laws to the SEC. Under the program, whistleblowers are encouraged to report financial mishandlings of over $1 million. For their services, whistleblowers receive an award of up to 30 percent of the monetary sanctions collected by the government.
The award of $22,437,800 given to an unnamed recipient, believed to be a former financial executive with Monsanto, was tied to
an $80 million settlement between the SEC and Monsanto in February, lawyer in the case, Stuart Meissner said in a statement.
February's case settlement centered on Monsanto's reporting of revenue from its weed-killer Roundup generated through a corporate rebate program designed to boost product sales. Monsanto neither admitted nor denied the fraud charges and went on to settle the issue earlier this year.
"Without this whistleblower's courage, information, and assistance, it would have been extremely difficult for law enforcement to discover this securities fraud on its own," said Jane Norberg, acting chief of the SEC's Office of the Whistleblower.
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