Citigroup Whistle-Blower Ordered to Split $27 Million SEC Award

A former Citigroup Inc. financial advisory team leader who reported misconduct to the Securities and Exchange Commission lost his bid to avoid sharing a $27 million whistle-blower award with one of his underlings.

The federal appeals court in Washington on Friday rejected Michael Johnston’s request to vacate the SEC’s 2021 order that he share the award equally with one of his team members, Michael Mittman.

Michael Johnston, who led a Citi Smith Barney team starting in the 1990s, had argued that he should get get 90% of the award because he was solely responsible for discovering the information presented to ...