US soldier charged with using classified information to profit on Polymarket
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The news: A US soldier has been charged with using classified information regarding the timing of the US attack on Venezuela and capture of president Nicolas Maduro to make more than USD400,000 ($560,852) in profit on prediction market Polymarket.
The context: Gannon Ken Van Dyke is being charged by the US Justice Department for “unlawful use of confidential government information for personal gain, theft of nonpublic government information, commodities fraud, wire fraud, and making an unlawful monetary transaction”.
The indictment against Van Dyke, who participated in the US attack, was unsealed in Manhattan federal court on Thursday.
He bet a total of USD33,034 on Maduro and Venezuela related markets after opening a Polymarket account “on or about” 26 December and allegedly profited about USD409,881.
What they said: “Widespread access to prediction markets is a relatively new phenomenon, but federal laws protecting national security information fully apply,” Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said.
FBI Director Kash Patel said: “Today’s announcement makes clear no one is above the law, and this FBI will do whatever it takes to defend the homeland and safeguard our nation’s secrets.”
The source: US Justice Department press release
