The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission will let corporatewhistle-blowers collect as much as 30 percent of penalties whenthey report financial wrongdoing, even when they bypass companies'internal complaint systems.

SEC commissioners voted 3-2 today in Washington to establish awhistle-blower program to “reward individuals who provide theagency with high-quality tips that lead to successful enforcementactions.” The program, part of the SEC's rulemaking under theDodd-Frank Act, expands a bounty system that was previously limitedto insider-trading cases.

In setting the rules, the SEC rejected appeals to require thatwhistle-blowers make reports through companies' internal complianceprograms before going to the agency. Instead, the regulatorincreased incentives for internal complaints by permitting bountiesfor people whose tips are passed along on to the agency andexpanding the time whistle-blowers can maintain their place in lineat the SEC while reporting to the company.