Don't show this message again
31 U.S. Code § 5323. Whistleblower incentives and protections
(a)Definitions.—In this section:
(1)Covered judicial or administrative action.—
The term “covered judicial or administrative action” means any judicial or administrative action brought by the Secretary of the Treasury (referred to in this section as the “Secretary”) or the Attorney General under this subchapter, chapter 35 or section 4305 or 4312 of title 50, the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act (21 U.S.C. 1901 et seq.), or .),[1] and for conspiracies to violate the aforementioned provisions that results in monetary sanctions exceeding $1,000,000.
(2)Monetary sanctions.—The term “monetary sanctions”, when used with respect to any judicial or administrative action—
(A)
means any monies, including penalties, disgorgement, and interest, ordered to be paid; and
(B) does not include—
(i)
forfeiture;
(ii)
restitution; or
(iii)
any victim compensation payment.
(3)Original information.—The term “original information” means information that—
(A)
is derived from the independent knowledge or analysis of a whistleblower;
(B)
is not known to the Secretary or the Attorney General from any other source, unless the whistleblower is the original source of the information; and
(C)
is not exclusively derived from an allegation made in a judicial or administrative hearing, in a governmental report, hearing, audit, or investigation, or from the news media, unless the whistleblower is a source of the information.
(4)Related action.—
The term “related action”, when used with respect to any covered judicial or administrative action brought by the Secretary or the Attorney General, means any judicial or administrative action brought by an entity described in any of subclauses (I) through (III) of subsection (g)(4)(D)(i) that is based upon the original information provided by a whistleblower pursuant to subsection (b) that led to the successful enforcement of the covered action.
(5)Whistleblower.—
(A)In general.—
The term “whistleblower” means any individual who provides, or 2 or more individuals acting jointly who provide, information relating to a violation of this subchapter, chapter 35 or section 4305 or 4312 of title 50, the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act (21 U.S.C. 1901 et seq.), or .),1 and for conspiracies to violate the aforementioned provisions to the employer of the individual or individuals, including as part of the job duties of the individual or individuals, or to the Secretary or the Attorney General.
(B)Special rule.—
Solely for the purposes of subsection (g)(1), the term “whistleblower” includes any individual who takes, or 2 or more individuals acting jointly who take, an action described in subsection (g)(1)(A).