Overview
- Kalshi flagged and froze an account it says was linked to George Santos after unusual trades in a market about who would attend President Trump’s State of the Union.
- Sources say Santos posted on X that he planned to attend on Feb. 23 and then tweeted during the speech on Feb. 24 that he was “stuck at the airport,” while allegedly having placed bets that he would not attend.
- Kalshi referred the activity to the Department of Justice and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, and both agencies are reported to be reviewing the trades though no charges have been announced.
- Reporting estimates Santos’s gains at between thousands and tens of thousands of dollars, and Kalshi sought to interview him as part of its internal review but sources say he did not participate.
- The inquiry highlights growing enforcement questions for prediction markets, which are regulated by the CFTC and have faced recent prosecutions and congressional scrutiny over insider trading and market controls.