A US special forces officer has been arrested after accusations that he bet on the political ouster of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro before Washington’s covert operation was publicly known.
Gannon Ken Van Dyke has been indicted by the US Department of Justice. He is suspected of using classified data and trading on the crypto platform Polymarket. In particular, in attempts to capitalise on events he had access to within the service.
As the Justice Department stated, “This is clear insider trading and is illegal under federal law.”
According to investigators, Van Dyke, a serviceman stationed at Fort Bragg in North Carolina, made more than $409,000 on his bets.
He was apprehended.
Secret
He is accused of placing more than $33,000 worth of bets using secret transaction information.
Polymarket said: “When we discovered a user who was trading on classified government information, we passed the data to the Department of Justice and co-operated fully with the investigation.”
And it added: “Insider trading has no place on Polymarket. This arrest proves that the system works.”
Van Dyke is charged with multiple offences:
The indictment was made public on Thursday.
Acting US Attorney General Todd Blanch emphasised: “Our military personnel have access to classified information to safely and effectively carry out their missions, and they are prohibited from using that data for personal financial gain.”
Prosecutors say he was involved in the planning and execution of Operation Absolute Resolute Resolve from 8 December 2025 to 6 January 2026 and had access to top-secret data.
The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) also filed a separate complaint accusing him of insider trading.
Trump is not “excited”
When asked by reporters about the possible insider betting issue, US President Donald Trump said he had not heard of the case but planned to investigate.
He added: “I’m not thrilled about the whole thing.”
And continued: “The world, unfortunately, has turned into a kind of casino. Look at what’s happening in Europe and around the world – these bets, these games. I’ve never particularly supported it.”