Victor Hong on Monday appealed a lower court’s ruling that found him ineligible for a whistleblower award under a 2010 federal law because the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) passed along information he provided in 2014 to the Justice Department rather than bringing its own action against RBS, now called NatWest Group PLC (NWG.L).
A three-judge panel of the New York-based 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in July ruled unanimously against Hong, a veteran New York-based banker whose tips helped federal agencies secure more than $10 billion in settlements with RBS in 2017 and 2018.
Hong voluntarily reported what he called unlawful conduct related to RBS’s valuation of mortgage-backed securities to the SEC, which then shared his tips with the Justice Department, helping federal prosecutors and the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) secure settlements.
A former Royal Bank of Scotland managing director is taking to the U.S. Supreme Court his bid to collect a whistleblower award of at least $490 million from the U.S. government for reporting what he called unlawful conduct related to mortgage-backed securities.
Victor Hong on Monday appealed a lower court’s ruling that found him ineligible for a whistleblower award under a 2010 federal law because the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) passed along information he provided in 2014 to the Justice Department rather than bringing its own action against RBS, now called NatWest Group PLC (NWG.L).
A three-judge panel of the New York-based 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in July ruled unanimously against Hong, a veteran New York-based banker whose tips helped federal agencies secure more than $10 billion in settlements with RBS in 2017 and 2018.
Hong voluntarily reported what he called unlawful conduct related to RBS’s valuation of mortgage-backed securities to the SEC, which then shared his tips with the Justice Department, helping federal prosecutors and the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) secure settlements.
Hong has been pursuing compensation he has said he is owed under a program created under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, a law enacted in response to the 2008 financial crisis. The measure authorizes awards worth up to 30% of the government’s recovery in “judicial or administrative actions” or “related actions” brought by the SEC.
RBS agreed to settle Justice Department and FHFA investigations over its sales of residential mortgage-backed securities in the run-up to the financial crisis. The bank denied wrongdoing.
