Whistleblowers drawn by tip-off payouts Company informants tempted by the prospect of multimillion dollar payouts are rushing to US regulators with audio recordings and internal documents to take advantage of a new programme that can make whistleblowing on wrongdoing lucrative, lawyers and regulators say. Many of the complaints, lawyers say, involve allegations of accounting fraud and foreign bribery at financial and industrial companies. Others include allegations of market manipulation or other crimes by hedge funds and private equity firms. Under the programme, created by the 2010 Dodd-Frank law, any person who reports a credible tip or complaint can qualify for 10 per cent to 30 per cent of the amount that the Securities and Exchange Commission recovers through the courts or a settlement. That could result in a big payday for an informant who uncovers a fraud that leads to a multimillion dollar settlement. "We've been very pleased with the percentage of whistleblower tips that have [signs] of reliability either because they're from somebody working at the ­company they're complaining about or there's a sufficient amount of specificity, or both," said Sean McKessey, chief of the SEC's whistleblower office. We've received notes, audio recordings of conversations and simple recollections. Mr McKessey said he reviewed all paper submissions and, in at least one case, had found a tip to be "extraordinarily specific and credible" and referred it to the agency's examination and enforcement attorneys immediately. A greater volume of tips sent electronically are vetted by the SEC's market intelligence unit. One person familiar with the programme said a whistleblower tip had been the basis for opening a case last week. Reuben Guttman, a lawyer representing several whistleblowers said employees saw "that just because something is business as usual doesn't mean it's legal." But, he added: "There is still a serious question in my mind as to whether the agency has the resources to adequately investigate." Law firms that specialise in representing shareholders are recruiting whistleblowers while some of those that represent companies say they are involved in probes emanating from whistleblower tips. But while the SEC has received numerous applications from individuals seeking bounties in the eight months that the programme has been in operation, no one has yet been granted a reward.