Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 124.djvu/1868

 124 STAT. 1842 PUBLIC LAW 111–203—JULY 21, 2010 ‘‘(A) is derived from the independent knowledge or analysis of a whistleblower; ‘‘(B) is not known to the Commission from any other source, unless the whistleblower is the original source of the information; and ‘‘(C) is not exclusively derived from an allegation made in a judicial or administrative hearing, in a governmental report, hearing, audit, or investigation, or from the news media, unless the whistleblower is a source of the informa- tion. ‘‘(4) MONETARY SANCTIONS.—The term ‘monetary sanctions’, when used with respect to any judicial or administrative action, means— ‘‘(A) any monies, including penalties, disgorgement, and interest, ordered to be paid; and ‘‘(B) any monies deposited into a disgorgement fund or other fund pursuant to section 308(b) of the Sarbanes- Oxley Act of 2002 (15 U.S.C. 7246(b)), as a result of such action or any settlement of such action. ‘‘(5) RELATED ACTION.—The term ‘related action’, when used with respect to any judicial or administrative action brought by the Commission under the securities laws, means any judicial or administrative action brought by an entity described in subclauses (I) through (IV) of subsection (h)(2)(D)(i) that is based upon the original information provided by a whistle- blower pursuant to subsection (a) that led to the successful enforcement of the Commission action. ‘‘(6) WHISTLEBLOWER.—The term ‘whistleblower’ means any individual who provides, or 2 or more individuals acting jointly who provide, information relating to a violation of the securities laws to the Commission, in a manner established, by rule or regulation, by the Commission. ‘‘(b) AWARDS.— ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In any covered judicial or administrative action, or related action, the Commission, under regulations prescribed by the Commission and subject to subsection (c), shall pay an award or awards to 1 or more whistleblowers who voluntarily provided original information to the Commis- sion that led to the successful enforcement of the covered judicial or administrative action, or related action, in an aggre- gate amount equal to— ‘‘(A) not less than 10 percent, in total, of what has been collected of the monetary sanctions imposed in the action or related actions; and ‘‘(B) not more than 30 percent, in total, of what has been collected of the monetary sanctions imposed in the action or related actions. ‘‘(2) PAYMENT OF AWARDS.—Any amount paid under para- graph (1) shall be paid from the Fund. ‘‘(c) DETERMINATION OF AMOUNT OF AWARD; DENIAL OF AWARD.— ‘‘(1) DETERMINATION OF AMOUNT OF AWARD.— ‘‘(A) DISCRETION.—The determination of the amount of an award made under subsection (b) shall be in the discretion of the Commission. ‘‘(B) CRITERIA.—In determining the amount of an award made under subsection (b), the Commission—