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The Morning Risk Report: Deutsche Bank Whistleblower Gets $200 Million for Aiding Libor Probe

By WSJ Staff

 

Good morning. A whistleblower whose information helped U.S. and U.K. regulators investigate manipulation of global interest-rate benchmarks by Deutsche Bank AG was awarded nearly $200 million for assisting the probe, according to people familiar with the matter.

The payout is the largest ever by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, which along with the Justice Department and U.K. Financial Conduct Authority settled enforcement actions against Deutsche Bank in 2015.

The CFTC’s announcement didn’t name the bank or the case, but the reward is related to the bank’s manipulation of the London interbank offered rate and similar widely used benchmarks, the people said.

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“We’re very happy that the CFTC was able to reverse an earlier decision and turn around their thinking,” David Kovel, a managing partner at law firm Kirby McInerney LLP who represents the whistleblower. “It says a lot about the people there that they don’t feel forced to stick with the wrong decision given the amount that’s at stake.”

The prospect of such a large payout pushed the CFTC whistleblower program into turmoil this year, as agency leaders contended there was no mechanism to pay the former bank executive and other applicants and keep funding the program. The agency averted a crisis after President Biden signed a bill in July to fund the program.

 
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Top Stories

Global finance watchdog censures Turkey. The Financial Action Task Force added Turkey to its list of countries requiring special regulatory oversight for failing to stop money laundering and terrorist financing, a designation analysts say will rattle Ankara’s already shaky economy.

 

Compliance

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Governance

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A depleted reservoir in Nicasio, Calif. PHOTO: DAVID PAUL MORRIS/BLOOMBERG NEWS

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