Nevertheless, the structure of the program is missing key elements that have been identified over the past thirty years as the best practices for whistleblower reward laws. The Rewards for Justice program faces inherent challenges of remaining highly confidential and focusing on a narrow list of desired information. government, through the State Department, has “paid in excess of $200 million to more than 100 people who provided actionable information that brought terrorists to justice, disrupted terrorist attacks or financing, or disrupted financial mechanisms of those engaged in illegal activities to support the North Korean regime.”

Should the Sanctions Evasion Whistleblower Rewards Act pass, sanction evasion would be added to that short list of eligible crimes.Īccording to the Rewards for Justice website, the U.S. elections, malicious cyber activity, and North Korea. The program has since been updated to authorize rewards for sharing knowledge with the government about crimes relating to foreign interference in U.S. government with knowledge of terrorist acts or crimes. The Rewards for Justice program was originally passed as part of the Act to Combat International Terrorism which created reward incentives for people providing the U.S.

The bill would amend the State Department Basic Authorities Act of 1956, and more specifically the “Rewards for Justice” program within the Act that was passed in 1984. In Senator Whitehouse’s press release, the representatives touted the bill as “legislation that would protect national security by offering rewards for information leading to the arrest or conviction of sanctions evaders.” Leading whistleblower advocates cast doubt on the impact of the legislation due to its language and construction. Senators Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) and James Risch (R-ID) and Representatives Joe Wilson (R-SC) and Dean Phillips (D-MN) announced their introduction of the bipartisan “Sanctions Evasion Whistleblower Rewards Act” on June 21.

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