Some of Donald Trump’s announcements during the war against Iran have been linked to significant financial market transactions, fueling suspicions that insiders may have benefited from privileged information. The American regulatory authority has launched an investigation.
An American regulatory authority is investigating suspicious financial transactions that occurred shortly before important announcements by Donald Trump during the ongoing war against Iran, Bloomberg revealed on Thursday, April 16. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), the federal authority responsible for monitoring derivative products such as oil futures contracts, is investigating at least two cases. It is seeking to identify the individuals who made these transactions by requesting their identifiers from platforms in New York and London.
On March 23, one or more unidentified operators invested over $500 million in oil futures contracts just minutes before an unexpected announcement from Donald Trump. He suddenly stated postponing attacks on Iranian energy infrastructure by five days, causing a sharp drop in oil prices.
“Based on my experience in markets over the past 25 years, this is really abnormal, someone has just made a significant profit,” choked a seasoned investor to the Financial Times.
The White House Writes to its Employees
Similar movements were observed on April 7, in the hours leading up to the announcement of a ceasefire between the United States and Iran, fueling suspicions that some insiders may have profited from privileged information in an attempt to profit from the very high volatility of the markets. Other transactions of this kind have been observed on platforms specializing in news betting, such as Polymarket. In January, an account had placed a very large bet on an imminent fall of Nicolas Maduro, the Venezuelan leader, five hours before his capture by the United States.
These betting platforms are the subject of intense debates in the United States. Currently, they are also under the supervision of the CFTC, the authority investigating transactions in oil markets. Its president, Michael Selig, appointed by Donald Trump last December, wants to keep them under his control and considers them financial markets.
In this context of suspicion, the White House wrote to its employees to remind them that they should not use information they have access to in their roles to take positions in financial markets. A message to this effect was sent to them on March 24 after suspicious operations, according to Reuters, confirming information from the Wall Street Journal. So far, the White House has denied all accusations.
