Whistleblowers: 12,000 people cried foul play on their companies last year to the SEC

11/16/21 7:00PM

Back in January we wrote about how the work-from-home revolution was also sparking a revolution in telling-on-your-coworkers. At the time, the US Securities and Exchange Commission had just received 6,911 tips from whistleblowers, which was up 30% on the year before.

Well, we just got the data in for the 12-months to September 2021, and the SEC got over 12,000 tips... a 76% rise on last year.

It's easy to understand why whistleblowing might go up when working from home. It's a lot harder to look over someone's shoulder, and it's a lot easier to pluck up the courage to tell on some shady practices if you don't have to look your boss in the face the day after you do it.

‍Snitch, then get rich?

‍There are also some pretty powerful financial incentives for those who inform on wrongdoing that results in successful legal action. Just last week the SEC paid out $12.5m to a whistleblower, whose tip-off resulted in action. That's a nice payday for doing something good, but it's nothing on the enormous $114m that was paid out to one individual last year. All told the SEC has now cut 226 checks, worth a cool $1.1 billion, since 2012.

J. Edward Moreno11/4/25

Starbucks sells control of China business for $4 billion

Starbucks disclosed on Monday evening in a regulatory filing that it will sell control of its ailing China business to Boyu Capital for about $4 billion.

Under the agreement, Boyu will own a 60% stake in the China segment, which will become a joint venture between Boyu and Starbucks. The coffee chain will retain a 40% interest in the entity and will continue to own and license the brand and intellectual property.

Bloomberg reported earlier this year that the company was looking to sell its China segment. The American coffee giant has struggled to succeed in China, its second-largest market after the US.

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OPEC and others are boosting oil production as the race to catch up with the US goes on

This month’s 137,000-barrel-a-day boost is a little more modest than some expected.

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China, the world’s largest carbon polluter, has pledged to cut emissions for the first time

President Xi Jinping has announced that China is aiming to slash carbon emissions by up to 10% in the next decade.

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John Wayne Airport in Orange County tops the list of North America’s favorite airports

Despite a record year of passenger numbers, flight cancellations, and delays, a new survey has revealed that flyers have been increasingly satisfied about their experiences in North American airports.

According to this year’s North America Airport Satisfaction Study from data analysts at J.D. Power, overall passenger satisfaction scores were up 10 points (on a 1,000-point scale), largely from “improvements in food, beverage and retail and ease of travel through the airport.” The annual survey measures overall traveler satisfaction across the region’s airports in seven categories (in order of importance): ease of travel, level of trust, terminal facilities, airport staff, airport departure experience, food and retail, and airport arrival experience.

Here are the region’s favorites:

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More than 40% of American adults now report being online “almost constantly”

While a new survey showed Japan has the greatest share of perpetually online people, there was a significant number reporting not using the internet at all.

Whistleblowers: 12,000 people cried foul play on their companies last year to the SEC

More World

Starbucks sells control of China business for $4 billion

John Wayne Airport in Orange County tops the list of North America’s favorite airports

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