CFTC Finalizes Rule 165.9(d) Presuming 30% of Sanctions for Smaller Awards
The CFTC approved a final whistleblower rule creating a rebuttable presumption of an award equal to 30 percent of sanctions for qualifying actions within a defined size band.
On September 11, 2026, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission approved a final rule adding Rule 165.9(d) to its whistleblower regulations, establishing what the agency describes as a "30 Percent Presumption." As reported by Husch Blackwell, the provision creates a rebuttable presumption that a qualifying award should equal 30 percent of monetary sanctions collected in a successful Commission action falling within a defined size band, with awards outside that band remaining discretionary.
Why counsel should care: the presumption functions as a pricing floor in the small-to-mid award range. For defense teams it shifts settlement and disclosure economics, because a below-threshold action now carries more predictable minimum award exposure. For whistleblowers it raises expected recovery in cases where awards have historically been modest, potentially increasing tip volume to the Commission. For banks, funds, commodity traders, and compliance functions, the effect is a shift in internal-reporting calculus: an employee with evidence of a smaller-scale manipulation can now model a materially better payout.
Watch for Federal Register publication, the effective date, and any implementing guidance. The evidence here is a single firm alert and does not set out threshold amounts, so the band limits should be confirmed against the rule text.