Federal investigators probe $2.6 billion oil trades before Iran announcements
Federal investigators are looking into more than $2.6 billion worth of oil trades that happened right before big announcements about the Iran conflict, ABC News shared on Thursday, May 7.
Authorities want to know if traders got a heads-up from advance information tied to military and diplomatic developments involving the US Iran, and the Strait of Hormuz and used it to cash in, since these bets were made just ahead of major market swings.
Oil trades preceded Donald Trump's announcement
What's weird is how closely these trades lined up with government moves, like more than $500 million in oil bets just minutes before Trump announced he would delay threatened attacks on Iran's power grid on March 23, and more big wagers right before announcements about ceasefires in April.
Now, officials are investigating whether traders improperly obtained advance information to see if anyone used advance information for profit.
The probe raises market-integrity concerns.