A US special forces soldier who was part of the operation to capture Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro has been arrested and charged with betting on the prediction market and winning more than $400,000.
Federal investigators say Master Sgt. Gannon Ken Van Dyke opened an account with Polymarket in December last year, betting about $32,000 that Maduro would not be in office in January. Van Dyke, who was part of the group that planned Maduro’s kidnapping, won the bet and won $409,000. It is believed that he then transferred a large sum of money to a foreign cryptocurrency exchange.
After Operation Absolute Resolve, reports appeared in the press about unusual contracts related to Maduro at Polymarket. Van Dyke then took steps to delete his Polymarket account, saying he had lost the email associated with the account. He also tried to hide his cryptocurrency exchange email by registering in email and not his name.
“When we identified a user who was trading confidential government information, we referred the matter to the DOJ and cooperated with their investigation,” Polymarket wrote on X today. “Insider trading has no place in Polymarket. Today’s arrest is proof that the system is working.”
Van Dyke was charged with three counts of violating the Commodity Exchange Act, one count of fraud, and one count of money laundering.
“Prediction markets are not a place to use unauthorized or confidential information for personal gain,” said US Attorney Jay Clayton. “The defendant is alleged to have breached his trust with the United States Government by using confidential information about a sensitive military operation to bet on the timing and outcome of that operation, in order to make a profit. That is clearly insider trading and is illegal under federal law.”
When President Trump was asked about Van Dyke’s bet and possible insider trading bets on the Iran conflict, he slammed that the whole world has “turned into a casino.”
FBI Director Kash Patel said Van Dyke’s indictment “makes clear that no one is above the law, and that the FBI will do anything to protect the country and protect our country’s secrets.”
Concerns about insiders betting on prediction markets have become a problem for lawmakers. Polymarket, and Kalshi, have both pledged to take steps to reduce insider trading. The surveillance they recently introduced led to the fines of three congressional candidates recently after betting on their campaigns.
Photo: Unsplash
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