Tag: insider trading

Raskin Launches Probe of Scheme to Sell Insider Access to Trump Truth Social Posts

“Are you helping the president sell people advance access to market-moving information?”

That’s the opening line of a Thursday letter that US House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) sent to Kevin McGurn, interim CEO of President Donald Trump’s Trump Media & Technology Group (TMTG) Corp.

TMTG runs Trump’s Truth Social platform and earlier this month announced plans to launch “Truth API” by August 1. API, or application programming interface, lets software applications talk to each other. Critics have warned that the new endeavor will give Wall Street firms faster access to posts by the president and other top accounts.

“Trump Media’s target market for buyers of this service is ‘high-frequency and algorithmic trading firms,’ which would each pay a
handsome $100,000 monthly subscription fee,” Raskin wrote. “Nearly half of each fee would go directly into the pocket of Donald Trump, who owns roughly 41% of the company’s shares through a trust that he continues to control.”

“Put another way, Trump Media will soon be selling early access to President Trump’s so-called ‘Truth’ missives to the most sophisticated investment firms in the world,” he stressed. “This insider-information scheme will enable Wall Street to profit from the president’s frequent market-moving posts on major businesses and cash in on swings in stock prices caused by the president’s buying and selling (or pumping and dumping, if you prefer) of publicly traded stocks to unwitting retail investors.”

As Investopedia pointed out Thursday: “In recent months Trump has posted about new developments in the Iran War, which is particularly important for buyers and sellers of futures contracts who are trying to ascertain where oil prices are headed. Over the past year, he has also posted about tariff policy, government investments in publicly traded companies, and other corporate news developments.”

Additionally, as Raskin highlighted, “Trump has promoted over 20 companies on his Truth Social account shortly after purchasing the companies’ stocks, including government contractors where the Trump administration exerted substantial ability to move markets in those companies’ favor. Donald Trump Jr.’s investment firm, 1789 Capital, has posted a staggering 200% investment return since his father’s return to the White House, with the president recently admitting that his oldest sons are coventurers in his corruption.”

Once the new service is up and running, “whenever President Trump uses Truth Social to announce that a ceasefire is imminent, or prematurely leaks US jobs data, his customers will now be able to front-run the market using their privileged access to his social media posts, leaving retail investors, pension plans, and retirement accounts irreparably disadvantaged,” he warned. “This is precisely the type of harm that federal securities laws are designed to prevent.”

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House approves long-awaited stock trading ‘ban’ — here’s who the largest traders are

The House passed a sweeping set of restrictions on stock trades by lawmakers and their spouses that was paired with a voter ID provision that scared off many Democrats. 

The “Stop Insider Trading Act” cleared the House 232 to 198, with the full support of Republicans and 13 Democrats on board.

This includes Reps. Kathy Castor of Florida, Henry Cuellar of Texas, Don Davis of North Carolina, Jared Golden of Maine, Vicente Gonzalez of Texas, Josh Gottheimer of New Jersey, Marcy Kaptur of Ohio, Susie Lee of Nevada, Jared Moskowitz of Florida, Chris Pappas of New Hampshire, Marie Gluesenkamp Perez of Washington, Darren Soto of Florida, and Derek Tran of California.

Complicating things for Democrats was the voter ID provision in the bill, which would’ve required photo identification to cast a ballot. 

Given that dynamic, there appears to be little appetite for the “Stop Insider Trading Act” in its current form in the Senate, which is subject to the 60-vote filibuster.

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Longtime White House Teleprompter Operator Suspended Amid Shocking Allegations of Profiting Off President Trump’s Speeches on Prediction Market

A longtime White House technical assistant who has operated President Trump’s teleprompter since his historic 2016 campaign has been suspended after allegedly running a lucrative insider betting scheme.

Federal regulators are reportedly in settlement talks with Gabriel “Gabe” Perez over shocking allegations that he pocketed more than $100,000 on the prediction market Kalshi.

According to ABC News, Perez used his high-level security clearance and direct access to the presidential speech drafts to wager on Kalshi’s highly popular “Mentions” market.

These prediction markets allow users to bet on whether specific words or phrases like “rigged election,” “fake news,” or geopolitical terms will be spoken aloud by the President during a public address.

Because Perez loaded the speeches onto the teleprompter himself, he allegedly knew exactly what President Trump was going to say before the rest of the world.

According to ABC News, citing sources familiar with the matter, investigators uncovered instances in which Perez allegedly backed out of bets mid-speech after President Trump skipped a section that contained a word Perez had wagered would be mentioned.

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DOJ investigating fmr Rep. George Santos under suspicion of insider trading on Kalshi

The Department of Justice (DOJ) is reportedly investigating former New York GOP Representative George Santos after a prediction market website reported him to federal authorities for suspected market manipulation.

Santos is accused of using the popular prediction/betting platform, Kalshi, to engage in some form of insider trading ahead of President Donald Trump’s State of the Union (SOTU) address on February 24th this year. 

The day before, he notably posted a video to X in relation to the SOTU.

At the time, Kalshi users had already placed millions of dollars worth of wagers on potential high-profile attendees at the SOTU.

While contracts predicting Santos’ attendance opened at 16 cents in January and hovered around 33 cents the day before the event, his posted X video sent prices soaring to 76 cents around 10:00 a.m. ET on the morning of the address.

However, the former congressman failed to show up.

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Oil trader pockets reported $125 mn on suspiciously well-timed Iran bet – media

A massive crude oil bet placed shortly before reports of a possible US-Iran peace deal sent prices crashing and fueled suspicion of insider trading, after the position reportedly generated a $125 million profit in just over an hour.

According to market commentary platform the Kobeissi Letter, nearly 10,000 crude oil short contracts were placed around 3:40 AM (07:40 GMT) on Wednesday “without any major news,” describing the roughly $920 million position as unusually large for that time of day.

At 4:50 AM, Axios reported that Washington and Tehran were nearing an agreement to end the conflict and resume negotiations. Oil prices plunged more than 12% within two hours of the report, turning the short position into an estimated $125 million profit before the price later rebounded, the platform said.

During the US-Israeli war against Iran, prediction and traditional financial markets were flooded with suspiciously well-timed bets linked to airstrikes, ceasefire announcements, and diplomatic developments.

According to The Guardian, traders placed more than $1 billion in seemingly prescient wagers, including an $850,000 bet shortly before US strikes against Iran and around $950 million in oil futures hours before Trump announced a ceasefire in April. AP reported that the ceasefire announcement alone generated more than 413 million predictions and over $100 million in wagers across prediction markets within days.

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DOJ Investigating Suspicious Iran War Oil Trading Trend: Report

Ups and downs in the war with Iran may have been an opportunity for insiders betting on oil prices to make a killing, according to a new report.

The report from ABC News said the Department of Justice is taking a close look at several oil market trades that came just before critical moments in the war with Iran.

In four transactions under review, the Justice Department and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission are examining trades that netted more than $2.6 billion to individuals who bet oil prices would drop immediately before they did so.

From the start of the conflict on Feb. 28, the oil market has been up and down depending upon Iran’s strategy, America’s response, and expectations that oil might again flow freely.

The London Stock Exchange Group highlighted the trades, which began on March 23, when 15 minutes before President Donald Trump announced a delay on attacks against Iranian infrastructure, a $500 million bet was placed that oil prices would dip.

On April 7, only hours ahead of Trump’s announcement of a temporary halt in hostilities, a $960 million bet was placed that oil prices would fall.

On April 17, 20 minutes before Iran said the Strait of Hormuz would be opened, a $760 million bet was placed that oil prices were going to drop.

On April 21, 15 minutes before the ceasefire was extended, $430 million worth of bets was placed predicting oil prices were going down.

The Guardian noted last month that the conflict has been accompanied by unprecedented betting on events through online betting platforms, with many bets being precisely timed to events in the war.

For example, according to one complaint before the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, six so-called insiders reaped $1.2 million from betting when former Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei would be killed.

Reining this in through legislation is a complex task, if it can be done at all, one expert said.

“Is the problem that we don’t have legislation or that we don’t have enforcement capabilities?” Joshua Mitts, a law professor at Columbia University, said.

“To have a law that can’t really be enforced effectively given the technological limitations, it’s sort of putting the cart before the horse,” he said.

The oil price bets appear suspicious, another expert said.

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Rep. Anna Paulina Luna Demands Full Pardon for U.S. Special Forces Hero Prosecuted by DOJ for ‘Insider Trading’ on Maduro Raid – “Skewed Justice” While Congress Members Illegally Profit Every Single Day

Rep. Anna Paulina Luna is demanding a full pardon for a U.S. Special Forces soldier now facing decades in prison after allegedly profiting from classified information tied to the takedown of Venezuelan strongman Nicolás Maduro.

The soldier, identified as Gannon Ken Van Dyke, was indicted by the Department of Justice on Thursday.

According to the DOJ, Van Dyke, an active-duty Army soldier stationed at Fort Bragg, participated in the planning and execution of a covert mission dubbed “Operation Absolute Resolve,” which resulted in the capture of Maduro earlier this year.

Prosecutors allege that Van Dyke used his access to classified intelligence to place wagers on the prediction platform Polymarket, ultimately netting approximately $409,000 in profits.

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Prediction Market Suspends and Fines Two Democrats and One GOP Candidate Over Insider Trading

These political candidates got caught red-handed.

Prediction market Kalshi announced in a press release that two Democrat candidates and one Republican candidate have been suspended and fined after engaging in insider trading on the platform.

According to the press release, the political candidates placed prediction trades on the outcomes of their own elections.

NBC News reported that Mark Moran, a Democrat running for a U.S. Senate seat in Virginia, Matt Klein, a Democrat running for Minnesota’s 2nd Congressional District, and Republican Ezekiel Enriquez, who previously ran in the Republican primary for Texas’ 21st Congressional District, have all been fined and suspended by Kalshi.

Per NBC News:

Prediction market Kalshi said Wednesday that it had fined and suspended three political candidates for trading on their own races during primary campaigns.

“Just like in traditional financial markets, bad actors will try to cheat,” Kalshi said in a statement. “These three cases are an example of how developing proactive engineering solutions can help identify illicit trading activity.”

Kalshi described the actions taken by the politicians as “political insider trading.”

The fines ranged from $539 to more than $6,200, while the suspensions from Kalshi are set to last five years.

The candidates include Matt Klein, who is running in the Democratic primary for Minnesota’s 2nd Congressional District; Ezekiel Enriquez, who ran in the Republican primary for Texas’ 21st Congressional District; and Mark Moran, who is running in the Democratic primary for a U.S. Senate seat in Virginia.

Previously, Kalshi did not fine or suspend candidates betting on their own campaigns, but after Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., and Sen. John Curtis, R-Utah, introduced the “Prediction Markets are Gambling Act,” the company reversed course.

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Péter Magyar: The Insider Who Toppled Orbán – And the Uncomfortable Questions About His Past That Lingered in the Shadows

Today in the early hours, Budapest’s streets erupted in celebration. Fireworks lit the sky over the Danube as Péter Magyar, the 45-year-old leader of the Tisza Party, declared victory in Hungary’s parliamentary elections.

His centre-right opposition movement had just crushed Viktor Orbán’s Fidesz party, securing a stunning 53.6% of the vote and 138 seats in the 199-seat parliament – a supermajority that will let him rewrite the constitution, dismantle Orbán’s “illiberal democracy,” and unlock frozen EU funds. Orbán, the man who had ruled Hungary for 16 unbroken years, conceded defeat in a terse speech, calling the result “painful but clear.”

European leaders could barely contain their glee. Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, posted immediately: “Hungary has chosen Europe. Europe has always chosen Hungary. Together, we are stronger.

A country returns to its European path.” French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, and NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte were among those who phoned Magyar that night.

For Brussels, it was more than an election result – it was the end of a long nightmare. Orbán had blocked EU sanctions on Russia, vetoed aid to Ukraine, and turned Hungary into the bloc’s internal troublemaker. Now, von der Leyen and others hailed Magyar as the man who would “save Hungary” and bring it back into the European mainstream.

But as the champagne corks popped in Brussels and Budapest, a quieter question echoed in Hungarian pro-government circles and among some international observers: Why has so little been said – especially in Western media – about Péter Magyar’s own troubled past?

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White House Warns Staff Against Insider Trading Using Iran War Information

As recent geopolitical events shake financial markets, some traders are making risky bets to profit from the volatility.

In an email on March 24, the White House warned staff not to trade or place bets related to the U.S. war in Iran, including on prediction markets.

The warning aimed to prevent any misuse of confidential information, the White House told The Epoch Times.

“President [Donald] Trump has been crystal clear: while he seeks a strong and profitable stock market for everyone, members of Congress and other government officials should be prohibited from using nonpublic information for financial benefit,” Davis Ingle, White House spokesman, said in an email.

The warning was in line with government ethics guidelines that prohibit the use of nonpublic information for trading activity, he said.

Ingles added that “any implication that administration officials are engaged in such activity without evidence is baseless and irresponsible reporting.”

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