A group of Democratic politicians has joined to demand that the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) stop federal employees from engaging in “insider trading” on prediction markets.
Led by Senators Elizabeth Warren, Amy Klobuchar, Jeff Merkley, and Representatives Maxine Waters and Angie Craig, the group of more than 40 elected officials claims there have been multiple incidents of insider trading, pointing to a $400,000 bet on the detention of Nicolas Maduro, Venezuela’s former dictator. The policymakers tell the CFTC and the Office of Government Ethics (OGE) to “issue guidance reminding federal employees of their existing legal obligation to refrain from using their insider governmental information to profit from prediction market trades.”
Of course, there is an element of politics here, as the insinuation is that there are individuals in the Trump administration who are abusing their positions for personal gain.
The letter demands a response to the following questions by April 13th.
- Has the CFTC, OGE, or another agency distributed guidance instructing federal employees that they must refrain from insider trading in prediction markets?
- Has the CFTC investigated, received reports of, or otherwise become aware of instances of federal employees engaging in insider trading in prediction markets?
- What steps, if any, is the CFTC taking to detect and prevent insider trading by federal employees on unregulated or overseas prediction markets?
- What steps, if any, will the CFTC take to increase federal employees’ understanding of restrictions on insider trading in prediction markets?
- What steps, if any, is the CFTC taking to work with the designated contract markets it regulates to detect and prevent insider trading by federal employees?