Kirby McInerney Announces CFTC Whistleblower Award

The law firm of Kirby McInerney LLP is proud to announce that the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (the “Commission”) has awarded approximately $700,000 to a whistleblower it represented. Under the Commodity Exchange Act and the Commission’s Whistleblower rules, a whistleblower who provides valuable information is entitled to between 10% and 30% of monetary sanctions collected by the Commission for commodities law violations.

The Commission gave the award in recognition that the whistleblower’s “highly significant” information caused the Commission’s Division of Enforcement to open an investigation and “precisely and accurately described” illegal conduct in the commodities markets. The award was also in recognition for the “high degree of assistance” that the whistleblower provided the Division after the investigation was opened. Ultimately, the Commission concluded that the whistleblower “conserved substantial resources for the Commission.”

“This case underscores the degree to which whistleblowers can play a critical role in helping regulators police esoteric commodities markets,” said Kirby McInerney Co-Managing Partner David Kovel, who oversaw the case. “While we disagree with aspects of the CFTC’s determination, overall we applaud the CFTC for its support and recognition of whistleblowers, like our client, who bring this important value to the enforcement of commodities markets.”

Kirby McInerney extends its gratitude to its client and to the CFTC for investigating and pursuing this case.

Kirby McInerney is a New York-based law firm concentrating in whistleblower, securities, antitrust, and consumer litigation. The firm’s efforts on behalf of investors, consumers, and the government have resulted in recoveries totaling billions of dollars. The firm represents whistleblowers in numerous programs, including in the SEC, CFTC, and IRS whistleblower programs and in cases under the federal and state False Claims Acts.

Kirby McInerney has been involved in some of the most cutting-edge areas of commodities litigation, and represented the whistleblower who received nearly $200 million, the largest CFTC whistleblower award ever.

The firm’s commodity litigation experience includes cases involving the manipulation of agricultural, energy, fixed income, foreign exchange, metals, and other markets. Notably, Kirby McInerney served as co-lead counsel for a class of exchange-based plaintiffs in the high-profile In re LIBOR-Based Financial Instruments Antitrust Litig., No. 11 MD 2262 (S.D.N.Y.) and secured settlements totaling $190 million for Eurodollar Futures traders. This amount represents the largest recovery in a “futures-only” commodities class action litigation.

Kirby McInerney’s CFTC Whistleblower Team is led by the firm’s Co-Managing Partner, David Kovel, who was previously a commodities trader for a large financial firm.

This press release may be considered Attorney Advertising in some jurisdictions under the applicable law and ethical rules.

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