DOJ investigates million-dollar oil bets before Trump announcements on Iran
The strait of hormuz, controlled partially by Iran, is a strategic route through which around 20% of world oil transits
The U.S.Department of Justice(DOJ) and Commodity Futures Trading Commission(CFTC) investigate a series of speculative transactions in petr markets oleros made minutes before key announcements by President Donald Trump on the war with Iran, in a case that has raised suspicions of possible use of privileged information.
According to ABC News, the authorities are analyzing at least four operations in crude futures markets for more than $2, 600 million dollars, executed shortly before official messages that caused sharp falls in the oil price.
The bets consisted of downside positions on oil, anticipating decreases that indeed occurred following announcements by Trump and the Iranian chancellor Abbas Araqchi related to temporary truces and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.
According to data from the London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) reviewed by ABC News, the first transaction investigated occurred on March 23, just 15 minutes before Trump announced that he would postpone attacks on Iran's energy infrastructure.
In that operation, the operators bet more than $500 million dollars on a fall in crude and obtained millionaire profits after the collapse in prices.
The second maneuver, valued at $960 million, occurred on April 7 before Trump announced a temporary ceasefire.
Another bet for $760 million occurred on April 17, just 20 minutes before Araqchí reported on social media that the Strait of Hormuz remained open.
The fourth transaction, for about $430 million dollars, was carried out minutes before Trump indefinitely extended the truce with Tehran to facilitate diplomatic negotiations.
The Reuters agency revealed this Thursday that the pattern of suspicious operations could be much wider than initially reported.
According to the investigation, coordinated bets on oil, gasoline, and diesel made between March and April would exceed $7,000 million.
Reuters indicated that several of the operations were executed on platforms of the CME Group and the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), just before announcements related to military pauses, diplomatic negotiations and decisions on the Strait of Hormuz.
Experts consulted by the agency described the timing of operations as “extraordinarily precise” and difficult to explain solely by normal market movements.