The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) handed out an award of $279 million for information related to bribery cases brought against Ericsson in 2019, The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported.

Earlier this month, the US agency announced the record sum had been awarded from its programme, which allocates cash for information leading to successful enforcement action.

When sanctions exceed $1 million, it noted pay outs for tips can reach as high as 30 per cent of the funds collected.

The SEC does not disclose information related to the identity of recipients, but the WSJ claimed on this occasion the bounty was related to the case settled by Ericsson in 2019 for almost $1.1 billion.

Of this sum around half was allocated to the SEC, with the remainder a criminal penalty.

As part of the settlement, Ericsson admitted to a number of charges related to corporate activities across several markets and over a number of years.

Reports of the destination of the whistle-blower reward came a day after positive news for Ericsson, when a US court threw out a lawsuit claiming it had misled investors in the wake of the corruption investigation.