The White House warned the internal staff against using confidential information to place trades on financial markets and fast-growing betting platforms, according to a report by the Wall Street Journal.
The warning comes after multiple recent well-timed and profitable bets fueled suspicion over potential insider trading around President Donald Trump’s decision on military actions in Iran and Venezuela.
The warning was issued via an email to the staff on March 24, according to the White House official who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
President Donald Trump, the previous day, had announced a five-day pause on his threat to attack Iranian power plants in a social media post, citing “productive conversations” with Tehran.
However, futures for oil and stocks worth billions of dollars changed hands just 15 minutes before Trump’s post sent crude prices tumbling and equities soaring, according to the WSJ report.
‘Trump Has Been Crystal Clear’
“President Trump has been crystal clear: while he seeks a strong and profitable stock market for everyone, members of Congress and other government officials should be prohibited from using nonpublic information for financial benefit,” White House spokesman Davis Ingle said in a statement accessed by the outlet.
“The only special interest that will ever guide President Trump is the best interest of the American people”, he added.
The unusual pattern in futures trading after Trump’s announcement as well as the surge in bets placed in online prediction markets raised eyebrows about whether bettors are engaging in insider trading.
