(Bloomberg) -- The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission will pay more than $40 million to four tipsters for helping the agency bring successful enforcement cases by providing documents and identifying people involved in misconduct.

The agency awarded $37 million to two whistle-blowers who provided evidence that helped the SEC advance its investigation of securities violations. Another tipster received $1.8 million for information that prompted a probe, while a third whistle-blower got $1.5 million for helping shape the agency’s strategy.

“Credible tips of securities laws violations are a valuable component of the Commission’s enforcement program,” Creola Kelly, head of the SEC’s whistle-blower office, said in a Friday statement. 

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The SEC has paid about $1.2 billion to 245 tipsters since issuing its first whistle-blower award in 2012. People are eligible for awards ranging from 10% to 30% of the amount of money collected in enforcement cases where penalties exceed $1 million. 

Neither the whistle-blowers nor the companies involved were named by the SEC, in keeping with the federal government’s policy of withholding information that could reveal a tipster’s identity.

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