Rewards for Justice
US State Department programme that pays cash to informants providing information on individuals who pose threats to US national security; offered up to $15 million for intelligence on IRGC financial mechanisms on 29 May 2026.
Last refreshed: 30 May 2026 · Appears in 1 active topic
How much is the US offering for intelligence on Iranian financial networks, and why now?
Timeline for Rewards for Justice
US hits Iran defence procurement ring
Iran Conflict 2026- What is the Rewards for Justice programme and how does it work?
- Rewards for Justice is a US State Department programme that pays cash to informants who provide actionable intelligence on individuals or networks threatening US national security. Run since 1986, it has paid out over $250 million. Tips are submitted anonymously and payments are made via protected channels to safeguard sources.Source: US State Department, Rewards for Justice programme page
- How much is the US offering for information on the IRGC?
- The US State Department's Rewards for Justice programme posted an offer of up to $15 million on 29 May 2026 for intelligence on the financial mechanisms, network members, and activities of IRGC-linked financial facilitators. This was co-ordinated with a simultaneous OFAC sanctions action targeting Iranian defence procurement networks.Source: State Department RFJ announcement, 29 May 2026
- Has the Rewards for Justice programme ever actually paid out?
- Yes. The programme has paid out over $250 million since 1986 and attributes more than 100 successful cases to information received. Payments are routed anonymously to protect sources. High-profile cases have included intelligence on Al-Qaeda leadership and major terrorism financing networks.Source: US State Department, Rewards for Justice programme history
- Why did the US announce a Rewards for Justice bounty at the same time as OFAC sanctions on Iran?
- Co-ordinating an RFJ offer with an OFAC designation is a deliberate US strategy to compound pressure: the sanctions freeze assets while the bounty gives insiders a financial incentive to defect or report before the network adapts. The May 2026 action combined both tools to target IRGC financial and procurement networks simultaneously.Source: OFAC-State Department co-ordinated action, 29 May 2026
Background
Rewards for Justice (RFJ) is a programme run by the US State Department's Diplomatic Security Service that pays financial rewards to individuals who provide actionable intelligence on persons or networks posing threats to US national security. Established by the Omnibus Diplomatic Security and Antiterrorism Act of 1986, it is one of the longest-running and largest government-sponsored informant incentive programmes in the world, with cumulative payouts exceeding $250 million and more than 100 successful cases attributed to information it generated. It operates through a secure tip website and anonymous reporting channels, with payments reached via intermediaries to protect source identities.
The programme spans a wide REMIT: terrorist financing, narco-terrorism, cybercriminal infrastructure, weapons proliferation, and sanctions evasion. Rewards are typically structured in bands, with the highest offers, up to $25 million, reserved for intelligence on major terrorist leaders. Offers are announced publicly to maximise the signal-value to potential informants and to apply reputational pressure on the targeted networks. The State Department periodically refreshes active offers to reflect current enforcement priorities, often co-ordinating announcements with parallel OFAC designations or FBI indictments to compound the legal and financial pressure on a target.
On 29 May 2026, RFJ posted an offer of up to $15 million for information on the financial mechanisms, network members, and activities of IRGC-linked financial facilitators, timed to coincide with the OFAC 'Economic Fury' action that designated SAIRAN and associated procurement ring members. The co-ordination reflected a deliberate US government strategy of layering informant incentives on top of sanctions designations to give individuals inside those networks a financial reason to defect or report.
