The US Department of Justice and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) are investigating a series of large oil trades made shortly before key Iran war announcements by President Donald Trump and an Iranian official, according to reports from Reuters and ABC News.
Between March 23 and April 21, four multi-million-dollar trades were placed betting that oil prices would drop, yielding profits of over $2.6 billion. The timing of the trades has raised suspicions of insider trading.
On March 23, roughly 15 minutes before Trump announced a delay in an attack on Iran's power grid, traders bet more than $500 million on falling oil prices. Hours before Trump announced a temporary ceasefire with Iran on April 7, bets of $960 million were placed. On April 17, about 20 minutes before Iran's Foreign Minister declared the Strait of Hormuz open, traders bet $760 million that oil prices would fall, leading to an 11% drop in crude oil. On April 21, just 15 minutes before Trump extended the ceasefire, bets totalling over $430 million were made on falling prices.
The data from the London Stock Exchange Group, provided to ABC News, does not identify the traders or prove insider trading. The CFTC has requested data from CME Group and Intercontinental Exchange, whose platforms were allegedly used for the trades.
Senators Elizabeth Warren and Sheldon Whitehouse have urged CFTC head Michael Selig to investigate the March 23 bets, citing concerns about misappropriation of nonpublic government information. The White House circulated a memo on March 24 cautioning staff against betting on futures markets related to the Iran war.
