Rep. Torres Demands SEC and CFTC Investigate Suspicious Oil Futures Trade Made Ahead of Trump Iran Announcement

Torres Calls Trading Activity “Potentially the Largest Instance of Insider Trading in History”

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, Congressman Ritchie Torres (NY-15) wrote to the chairmen of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) demanding an immediate investigation into highly suspicious trading activity in oil and equity futures markets that occurred minutes before President Trump publicly announced a delay in military strikes against Iran.

According to reporting by Reuters, traders placed over $500 million in crude oil futures bets approximately fifteen minutes before Trump’s March 22nd Truth Social post announcing a pause in planned strikes against Iranian energy infrastructure. Oil prices plummeted more than 10 percent following the announcement, generating enormous profits for whoever made those trades. The New Yorker further reported that the surge in trading volume at 6:49 a.m. EST was approximately nine times the average level for that time of day, with positions precisely anticipating both a drop in oil prices and a rise in equity markets.

Torres’s letter calls on the SEC and CFTC to open a formal investigation, obtain comprehensive trading records including beneficial ownership information for all accounts involved, and provide a timely public update on the status of any investigation.

The suspicious trades fit a troubling pattern. Similar anomalies preceded Trump’s Liberation Day tariff pause in April 2025 and U.S. military action in Venezuela earlier this year. Meanwhile, the agencies tasked with policing such conduct have been weakened under the Trump administration. Recently, the SEC’s top enforcement official resigned after clashing with agency leadership over pursuing cases with ties to the President’s circle. Additionally, the Justice Department’s Public Integrity Section, created after Watergate to prosecute corrupt officials, has been reduced from 36 lawyers to two.

Specifically, Torres is requesting that the SEC open a formal investigation into all relevant trading activity in the period immediately preceding Trump’s announcement, coordinate with the CFTC to obtain comprehensive trading records including beneficial ownership information, and provide a timely public update to maintain confidence in the fairness and integrity of U.S. markets.

The full letter reads:

“I write to request that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), in coordination with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), immediately open a formal investigation into highly unusual and suspicious trading activity in oil and equity futures markets occurring immediately prior to President Donald Trump’s public announcement delaying military action against Iran.

“The integrity of U.S. financial markets depends on the principle that no market participant trades on material nonpublic information. The trading activity reported here raises serious concerns that this principle may have been violated on a potentially historic scale.

“Public reporting indicates that, within minutes before the President’s announcement, traders executed large, directional bets in oil futures markets that proved immediately profitable. According to Reuters, market participants placed trades exceeding $500 million in crude oil futures approximately fifteen minutes before the President announced a five-day delay to military strikes, a development that caused oil prices to fall sharply.

“Subsequent reporting further indicates that this activity was not isolated. The New Yorker reports that, at approximately 6:49 a.m. EST, there was a sudden and highly abnormal surge in futures trading volume, approximately nine times the average level for that time of day, consisting of positions that effectively anticipated both a decline in oil prices and a rebound in equity markets.

“Shortly after, the President publicly announced a delay in military action, triggering an immediate and significant market response: crude oil prices fell by more than 10 percent, while equity futures rose sharply. The speed and precision with which these trades anticipated the market-moving announcement strongly suggest the possibility that one or more market participants possessed advance knowledge of material, nonpublic government information.

“As a former SEC enforcement attorney observed in connection with these trades, given their timing and magnitude, the activity ‘certainly raises the question’ of whether the traders were acting on advance knowledge rather than market speculation.

“While it is possible that these trades reflect lawful speculation or algorithmic trading, the combination of (1) unusually large positions; (2) precise timing immediately preceding a major geopolitical announcement; and (3) immediate and substantial profitability presents a textbook basis for insider trading and market manipulation concerns under federal securities and commodities laws.

“This occurrence may constitute one of the largest instances of insider trading in history. Whether or not that ultimately proves to be the case, the seriousness of the allegations demands immediate transparency.

“Accordingly, I respectfully request that the SEC:

1. Open a formal investigation into all relevant trading activity in oil, energy, and equity futures markets in the period immediately preceding the President’s announcement;
2. Coordinate with the CFTC to obtain comprehensive trading records, including beneficial ownership information, for all accounts associated with these transactions; and
3. Provide a timely public update on the status of any investigation to ensure transparency and maintain public confidence in the fairness and integrity of U.S. markets.

“At a time of heightened geopolitical instability, public confidence in the fairness of U.S. financial markets is essential. When trades of this magnitude occur immediately before a market-moving government decision, failure to investigate risks undermining not only investor confidence, but the credibility of our regulatory institutions.

“I appreciate your prompt attention to this matter and look forward to your response.”

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