The US investigates oil investments on suspicions of insider trading

BarcelonaThe U.S. Department of Justice has opened an investigation into a series of operations related to the oil market carried out at particularly opportune moments: just before major announcements by U.S. President Donald Trump and senior Iranian officials in the context of the war in the Middle East. According to ABC News, at least four operations are being investigated in which traders made over $2.6 billion (about 2.2 billion euros) betting that oil prices would fall just before news emerged that caused them to do so.

In addition to the Department of Justice, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) is also participating in the investigation.

Bloomberg had already reported that this agency was investigating two operations, but details were not known. For now, neither the Department of Justice nor the CFTC have made any public statements, but the opening of an investigation lends more weight to the suspicion that was already circulating among some investors and in economic and political sectors of the United States, concerned that some traders may have had insider information about certain military decisions.

ABC News

reports that it has been able to access the details of the operations through data from the London Stock Exchange. On three occasions, the investment occurred shortly before Trump's announcements related to the delay or halting of attacks, and on one occasion, it was shortly before Iran announced the opening of the Strait of Hormuz, which ultimately proved to be fleeting and practically null. Here are the details of the operations under suspicion:

Following the April 7 operation, corresponding to the ceasefire announcement, Democratic Congressman for New York Ritchie Torres sent a letter to the Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, Paul Atkins, and the Chairman of the CFTC, Michael Selig, in which he expressed his "deep concern" about "extraordinarily unusual trading activity" in oil futures markets prior to key announcements. Torres directly cited the early April operation, and put into writing the suspicion of insider trading. "The timing and scale of these trades demand immediate scrutiny," the letter claimed, in which he requested the opening of an immediate investigation and the disclosure of the results "to preserve the confidence and integrity of the United States markets."