Key facts
- Kalshi permanently banned George Santos and fined him $71,356 for alleged insider trading.
- The ban stems from trades related to Santos' attendance at the State of the Union address.
- Santos allegedly profited $17,839.57 by manipulating market prices through public statements.
- This is the first lifetime ban issued by Kalshi.
- Republican candidate Laurie Buckhout received a three-year ban and a $2,590 fine for betting on her own election.
Prediction market operator Kalshi has permanently banned former U.S. Representative George Santos from its platform and imposed a $71,356 penalty, citing allegations of insider trading. The company's compliance department found that Santos placed trades between February 2 and February 25 in a market whose outcome hinged on his attendance at President Donald Trump's State of the Union address. As someone capable of influencing that outcome, Santos was barred from trading it under exchange rules. He then made a string of public statements about his attendance, some of them false or misleading, in a bid to move the price of the contracts, according to the notice. The compliance department found that Santos made those statements intending to manipulate prices and that they did in fact do so, letting him profit $17,839.57 in the targeted markets. Kalshi stated the conduct violated multiple rules, including prohibitions on market manipulation, trading with influence over an event's outcome, and using deceptive schemes to defraud. He was also cited for failing to cooperate with the investigation. This marks the first lifetime ban the exchange has handed to a former member of Congress. Separately, Republican candidate Laurie Buckhout received a three-year ban and a penalty of over $2,500 for betting on her own election win.