CFTC Whistleblower Program

What the program covers

A June 1, 2026 CFTC release says the whistleblower program was established under Section 748 of the Dodd-Frank Act. It pays eligible people who voluntarily provide original information about violations of the Commodity Exchange Act. The Commission may also pay based on related actions by other domestic or foreign regulators when conditions are met. ¹ Source 1

The statute, as posted by the CFTC, defines a covered judicial or administrative action as a Commission action under the Commodity Exchange Act that results in monetary sanctions exceeding $1,000,000. Original information comes from independent knowledge or analysis, is not already known to the Commission unless the whistleblower is the source, and is not exclusively taken from a public proceeding, a government report, or the news media unless the whistleblower is a source. ³ Source 3

Award range

The June 1, 2026 release says eligible whistleblowers may receive between 10 and 30 percent of the monetary sanctions collected. Whistleblower.gov says that if several people qualify, the total of all awards related to an order is still between 10 and 30 percent, not 30 percent each. ¹ Source 1 ² Source 2

The statute says the Commission shall pay an aggregate award of not less than 10 percent and not more than 30 percent of what has been collected of the monetary sanctions. The amount within that band is in the Commission’s discretion. Awards are paid from the Customer Protection Fund. The 2026 release says the fund is financed through monetary sanctions paid by violators, and that no money is taken from harmed customers to fund the program. ¹ Source 1 ³ Source 3

The same release says that since the first award in 2014, the CFTC has awarded more than $430 million, associated with enforcement actions that resulted in more than $3.7 billion in monetary sanctions. Those are program totals in the release, not a prediction for any new tip. ¹ Source 1

How the CFTC says to submit

Whistleblower.gov says a person who may be eligible files a Form TCR. The June 1, 2026 release says anyone with information about potential Commodity Exchange Act or CFTC violations may submit a tip electronically by filing Form TCR online, and it points readers to Whistleblower.gov. ¹ Source 1 ² Source 2

The report button on this page goes to America.gov/fraud. The CFTC and Whistleblower.gov links are citations so a reader can open the Commission’s own instructions. ¹ Source 1 ⁴ Source 4

Confidentiality

The June 1, 2026 release says the Commodity Exchange Act provides confidentiality protections. Whether or not the CFTC issues an award, the agency does not disclose information that could reasonably be expected to reveal a whistleblower’s identity, except in limited circumstances. Consistent with that practice, the release says the CFTC does not disclose the specific enforcement action or the exact award amount. ¹ Source 1

This edition does not state an anonymous-filing procedure for the CFTC. The pages reviewed describe confidentiality, not a promise that a person can both stay unnamed and be paid. ¹ Source 1

Deadlines

Whistleblower.gov describes how to apply for an award after a person has filed Form TCR. The pages reviewed for this edition do not state a day count for the tip or the award application. Use the Commission’s current form instructions rather than a deadline repeated from memory. ² Source 2