PRELIMINARY DETERMINATIONS
BEFORE this step, be sure:
- You have submitted a tip, complaint, or referral (Form TCR) to the Whistleblower Office
- You have located a Notice of Covered Action or a Related Action associated with your tip and a successful CFTC enforcement action related to your tip
- You have applied for an award using a Form WB-APP
- You have received and reviewed the Preliminary Determination of the Claims Review Staff
What to do NEXT:
- You may request within 30 days of the date of the Preliminary Determination that the Whistleblower Office make the record available to you, subject to your signing a confidentiality agreement
- You may request reconsideration of the Preliminary Determination and submit a written response either (1) within 60 days of the date of the Preliminary Determination or (2), if you requested to view the record, then within 60 days of the Whistleblower Office making the record available to you
- You may waive your request for the record or for reconsideration, which may speed up the review process if you are the only applicant in the award determination
Preliminary Determinations
After a whistleblower applies for an award by submitting a Form WB-APP, the Claims Review Staff, in consultation with the Whistleblower Office, will evaluate the application for compliance with the Whistleblower Rules.
The Claims Review Staff will evaluate each application for an award related to the same Covered Action or Related Action. If the Claims Review Staff determines that more than one whistleblower should receive an award, the Claims Review Staff will make a recommendation on the award amount for each eligible whistleblower with the total amount for all awards limited to between 10% and 30% of the monetary sanctions collected in the Covered or Related Action.
The Whistleblower Office will send each individual who submits an award application a letter enclosing a copy of the “Preliminary Determination” informing the claimant of the Claims Review Staff’s recommendation regarding whether to grant or deny the award applications associated with the Notice of Covered Action. If any application is granted, the Preliminary Determination will also state the award percentage amount.
A claimant has 30 days from the date of the Preliminary Determination to request the record the Claims Review Staff considered in reaching its award recommendation. If requested, the Whistleblower Office will make a redacted copy of the record materials available to the claimant. In making the record available, the Whistleblower Office will require that the claimant sign an agreement to keep the record confidential and not disclose it to others.
Additionally, a claimant has 60 days from the date of the Preliminary Determination to submit a request for reconsideration of the Preliminary Determination. That written request will typically be limited to 10 pages. If the claimant has requested the record, the 60 days begin to run from the date the record is made available to the claimant. Requests to review the record or for reconsideration must be made in writing to the Whistleblower Office—by email, mail, or fax to:
Commodity Futures Trading Commission
Whistleblower Office
1155 21st Street, NW
Washington, DC 20581
Fax: (202) 418-5975
Email: [email protected]
In cases where no award is recommended, if no claimant requests to review the record or asks for reconsideration, or fails to otherwise submit a timely response, the Preliminary Determination will become Final Order of the Commission after 60 days.