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US headquarters of Deutsche Bank in Manhattan: Do the high rewards endanger the whistleblower program?
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SPENCER PLATT / AFP
During the financial crisis, Deutsche Bank is said to have kept important reference interest rates artificially low - including the Libor.
An ex-employee of the money house uncovered the scandal surrounding the manipulated interest rates and, according to a report by the Reuters news agency, is now receiving a generous reward.
The US regulatory agency CFTC is paying the man a record amount of nearly $ 200 million, the report said, citing insiders.
The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), which is responsible for controlling the derivatives markets, announced the reward in a notice, but did not provide any further details.
Billions in penalties
In recent years, authorities around the world have imposed fines running into billions of euros against banks and dealers and initiated criminal proceedings after the longstanding manipulation of important reference interest rates was exposed.
A law was recently passed in the United States to maintain the CFTC whistleblower program.
The Wall Street Journal reported in May that the program was at risk due to an expected high payout to a Deutsche Bank manager.
This is related to the $ 2.5 billion settlement that Deutsche Bank agreed with supervisors a few years ago because of the Libor manipulation.
The CFTC declined to comment, citing the agency's policy.
According to Reuters, the whistleblower was formerly employed by Deutsche Bank, citing two insiders.
The money house declined to comment on Friday.
The law firm Kirby McInerney announced that the person she represents had been awarded the record amount because she had provided extensive information and documents in 2012.
This has accelerated investigations by the CFTC and a foreign authority.
She did not give the person's name.
The largest ever reward given to a whistleblower, according to Reuters, is $ 114 million and was granted by the Securities and Exchange Commission.
The amount to be distributed is "overwhelming," said Erika Kelton, a whistleblower attorney at Phillips & Cohen LLP.
apr / Reuters