US regulator probes suspicious Iran oil trading, official says
USO•The CFTC is investigating suspicious oil trading around the US war in Iran and is scrutinizing prediction market trading around elections, its enforcement director said. The oil investigation remains open.
1. Oil trading investigation
CFTC Enforcement Director David Miller said the agency had been probing suspicious oil trading around the US war in Iran “from the beginning” and that the investigation remained open. He made the remarks after being asked about a report that a political appointee had told surveillance staff to retract a referral identifying suspicious trading around President Donald Trump’s March decision to back away from strikes on Iran’s power plants.
2. Prediction markets scrutiny
Miller said the CFTC is watching for problematic trading in prediction markets, including on election outcomes, and declined to comment specifically on the November US midterm elections. He said staff “have investigated, and may have open investigations about some candidates who have placed trades on contracts that are based on their own elections.” Federal lawmakers are scrutinizing the industry, and a mid-October Reuters/Ipsos poll found most Americans oppose betting on government actions or elections.
