Gabriel Perez Investigated for Insider Trading on Prediction Market

Washington DC. An investigation has been launched against Gabriel Perez, who has been operating US President Donald Trump's teleprompter for a long time, on suspicion of insider trading (misuse of confidential information for financial gain).

According to US news agency CNN, the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) is investigating transactions made by Perez in a prediction market called Kalshi.

According to sources familiar with the investigation, Perez traded in the 'Mention Market' where bets are placed on words or phrases used in Trump's speeches. Since he was one of the few people who could see Trump's speeches before they were made public, it is suspected that confidential information was misused. According to sources, although it is said that Perez made a profit of more than 90,000 US dollars from these transactions, the amount has currently been frozen.

Kalshi stated that its monitoring team found suspicious transactions and informed the CFTC about it. The company also said that it is fully cooperating with the investigation. However, the CFTC has refused to confirm or deny whether an investigation is ongoing. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said that Trump is aware of this incident and considers it unfortunate and shameful. According to her, Perez has been placed on unpaid administrative leave and another person will operate the teleprompter for Trump's next address.

Previously, the White House had clearly instructed its employees not to trade in prediction markets using confidential government information. An internal directive issued in March stated that it would be a serious offense for government employees to use non-public information for financial gain. Perez has been working closely with Trump for about a decade. He is one of the few aides who gets to see President Trump's speeches in their final form, and his annual salary is reported to be 175,000 US dollars.