CFTC Whistleblower Program: Reporting Commodities Fraud
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission whistleblower program, created by Dodd-Frank, pays 10 to 30 percent of monetary sanctions exceeding 1 million dollars for original information about violations of the Commodity Exchange Act. Submissions can be made anonymously through an attorney.
What the CFTC covers
The Commission regulates derivatives markets, which includes futures, options, and swaps across commodities, interest rates, currencies, and increasingly digital assets.
- Manipulation of commodity or derivatives prices, including spoofing and layering
- Fraud in the offer or sale of futures, options, or swaps
- Benchmark manipulation
- Misappropriation of confidential market information
- Fraudulent solicitation by commodity pool operators and trading advisors
- Digital asset fraud where the asset is treated as a commodity
- Supervision and recordkeeping failures at registered entities
Where it overlaps with the SEC
The boundary between securities and commodities is not always obvious, particularly in digital assets and in products that reference both. Conduct sometimes supports submissions to both Commissions.
Awards can also be paid based on related actions, so a CFTC submission that leads to parallel enforcement by another authority can produce a larger total.
Frequently asked questions
Can I file anonymously with the CFTC?
Yes, if an attorney represents you and submits on your behalf.
Does the CFTC program cover cryptocurrency?
Where the digital asset is treated as a commodity, yes. Whether a given asset falls under CFTC or SEC jurisdiction is fact specific and sometimes both.
Is there anti-retaliation protection?
Yes. The Commodity Exchange Act includes anti-retaliation provisions for employees who report to the Commission, with a private right of action.
The attorneys who handle these cases
Related reading
Talk to a whistleblower attorney before you report
A conversation costs nothing and is confidential. We will tell you honestly whether what you have describes a case, and what the first-to-file rule means for your timing.