US soldier involved in Maduro raid charged over alleged bets on capture | US news
A U.S. soldier who played a role in the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in January has been detained for allegedly making more than $400,000 in bets on the politician’s ouster, federal officials said Thursday.
Prosecutors say that starting in early December, soldier Gannon Ken Van Dyke was involved in planning the military operation to capture and remove Maduro.
Between early December and early January, Van Dyke allegedly placed 13 bets on Polymarket, a popular prediction marketplace, about American forces invading Venezuela and taking the president.
According to the Department of Justice (DoJ), Van Dyke is charged with unlawful use of classified government information for personal gain, as well as commodity and wire fraud. He faces up to 60 years in prison.
In the news release, FBI deputy director-in-charge James C Barnacle Jr rebuked Van Dyke’s betting claim, calling it a betrayal of his fellow soldiers.
“Our men and women in uniform are trusted with confidential information to perform their duties as safely and effectively as possible, and they are prohibited from using this highly sensitive information for personal financial gain,” Acting Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said in a statement.
“This involved a US service member who allegedly took advantage of his position to profit from a justified military operation,” said FBI Director Kash Patel. wrote on social media. “The investigation continues.”
Polymarket said on social media: expression The company referred a user who acted on classified government information to the Department of Justice.
“Insider trading has no place at Polymarket. Today’s arrest is proof that the system works,” the company wrote.
The news comes a day after three US congressional candidates were fined by Kalshi, a different prediction site, for betting on the outcome of their races. One candidate, former reality TV contestant and Virginia Senate hopeful Mark Moran, claimed: placed a bet made to prove a point.
Kalshi’s sanctions appeared to be a move to appease lawmakers considering legislation to block government employees who might seek to profit from classified information.
Speculation about political insider trading has begun in recent weeks after well-timed bets on the Iran war netted more than $1 billion.
In the Oval Office on Thursday evening, Donald Trump told reporters he would investigate Van Dyke’s arrest.
“I don’t know about that…it’s like Pete Rose betting on his own team,” he said, referring to the late and disgraced baseball player who was banned by Major League Baseball for gambling. The president advocated for Rose to be inducted into the sport’s Hall of Fame.
When asked whether he was concerned about the betting markets regarding Iran, Trump replied: “Unfortunately, the whole world has turned into a kind of casino.”
“I was never very keen on it. I didn’t like it conceptually, but it is what it is… it’s a crazy world, a very different world than it was before.”
