Representative Richie Torres, a Democrat from New York, during an interview in New York, U.S., on Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2025.
Victor J. blue | Bloomberg | getty images
Rep. Ritchie Torres, D-N.Y., just before President Donald Trump announced a five-day delay in attacks on Iran’s energy infrastructure in March. on Wednesday called for a federal investigation into suspicious trading activity in the oil and equity futures markets.
In a letter to Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Paul Atkins and Commodity Futures Trading Commission Chairman Michael Selig, which was first reported by CNBC, Torres cited reports on a series of irregular and well-timed trades in the minutes before Trump called for a pause in hostilities.
“What kind of trader, with billions of dollars at stake and no hedge, would make a massive trade at 6:49 a.m. 15 minutes before a market-changing presidential announcement?” Torres said in an interview Wednesday. “The only plausible answer to that question is an insider trader. Any other option is a statistical impossibility.”
More than $500 million was traded in crude oil futures about 15 minutes before Trump announced the strike would be halted. Via Truth Social, Reuters reported Last month. The New Yorker reported Immediately after Trump’s announcement, there was an unusual increase in futures trading volume predicting a decline in oil prices and a surge in equity markets.
Torres said in his letter that “this incident may be one of the largest examples of insider trading in history,” and called on the SEC to launch a formal investigation and obtain comprehensive trading records in consultation with the CFTC.
An SEC spokesman declined to comment Wednesday. The CFTC did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The SEC has appointed Gibson Dunn lawyer and former agency official David Woodcock as its next enforcement director, Reuters reported on Wednesday.
“I lack confidence in our market regulators,” Torres said in the interview. “But we have no choice but to agitate for accountability. We cannot allow the SEC and CFTC to turn a blind eye to the largest insider trading case in history.”
It is the second time in as many months that Torres – a member of the House Financial Services Committee – has raised the issue of potential insider trading surrounding the Trump administration’s actions.
Torres introduced the legislation in January after an account on the prediction market platform PolyMarket placed a smart bet within hours to oust Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro from office, earning profits. $400,000 payment.
This law would prevent federal elected officials, congressional staffers, political appointees, and executive branch officials from buying or selling event contracts based on government policy, action, or political outcomes if they have material non-public information. it is 42 Democratic cosponsors But it is unlikely to pass in the Republican-controlled House.
Congressional Democrats in recent months have repeatedly raised concerns about the presence of insider trading within the Trump administration, particularly on prediction markets. A group of House Democrats sent a letter to Selig on Monday questioning the CFTC’s role in regulating event bets placed on offshore prediction markets like PolyMarket.
“Recent high-profile examples of alleged insider trading on prediction market platforms related to U.S. government actions – including the military intervention in Venezuela and our recent attack on Iran – have raised concerns that the CFTC does not have sufficient control over these fast-growing markets,” the group, led by Massachusetts Democrats Representatives Seth Moulton and Jim McGovern, wrote.