The Department of Justice (DOJ) has arrested a special forces soldier who was part of the capture of Nicolas Maduro. Gannon Ken Van Dyke allegedly won $400,000 on Polymarket by predicting the removal of the Venezuelan strongman.
The DOJ claimed the soldier made a series of trades totaling more than $33,000, according to ABC News. The events immediately brought allegations of insider trading after Maduro and his wife were extracted by US forces in January.
Authorities indicted Van Dyke on several federal charges:
- Unlawful use of confidential information for personal gain
- Theft of nonpublic government information
- Commodities fraud
- Wire fraud
Authorities allege after news broke of the insider trading concerns on the platform, the suspect attempted to delete his Polymarket account.
“Rather than safeguard that information as he was obligated to do, Van Dyke decided to use that classified information to place trades on a prediction market platform for his personal profit,” the indictment said.
“Van Dyke subsequently tried to conceal his unlawful use of classified US Government information by attempting to obscure the source of his unlawful proceeds and to disguise his connection to the accounts linked to the illicit trades.”
NY Bans State Employees From Using Insider Information
The announcement comes after the White House recently warned staff against using insider information on prediction markets. The platforms have faced increased scrutiny over insider trading allegations in recent months.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) has made a similar move. On Wednesday, Hochul signed an executive order banning state employees from using confidential information in event contracts.
“Getting rich by betting on inside information is corruption, plain and simple,” Hochul said. “Our actions will ensure that public servants work for the people they represent, not their own personal enrichment.”
Other Insider Allegations
Along with the allegations after Maduro’s capture, similar concerns about the use of insider information were expressed over the prospects of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei remaining in power.
In December, a user also won 22 of 23 bets on Polymarket, winning more than $1 million in a single day. The bets all involved Google search markets, also prompting insider trading allegations.
Legislators have now made efforts to curb similar trades from federal officials. In January, Rep. Ritchie Torres (D) filed a bill that would ban government employees from using prediction markets.
