Whistleblowers are usually insiders who have worked or connected to the targeted organisation. They are mainly motivated by the financial gain they will derive if they leak vital information to law enforcement agencies. So it is not strange to see the Commodity Futures Trading Commission spending this much to settle whistleblowers. I hope the identity of these whistleblowers will not be leaked to the public someday which might put their lives in danger because there might also be moles in CFTC.
I believe that these whistleblowers will mostly be from within the institutions or companies targeted by the CFTC, these are mostly employees within these institutions and may be in good positions within these institutions and privy to a lot of sensitive information.Of course, their main goal is to obtain money through reporting, and they may also be exempted from all legal or criminal charges and responsibilities due to their cooperation with the CFTC.
But they are playing a dangerous game, and the CFTC is unable to fully protect them if they are targeted as a result of the significant damage they inflict on these companies. We are accustomed to the US government abandoning its agents at the first opportunity.
