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CFTC official allegedly blocked review of oil trades before Iran decision
A senior official at the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) allegedly halted an analyst notification about suspicious trades in the crude oil market just before Trump canceled attacks against Iran. On March 23, oil contracts equivalent to at least 6 million barrels and more than $2 billion in S&P 500 futures contracts changed hands within two minutes.
The enforcement unit of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) is continuing to examine oil trades carried out on March 23. The trades took place shortly before the United States canceled its planned attacks against Iran.
Within a two-minute period, investors sold crude oil contracts equivalent to at least 6 million barrels. Trading volume was more than 8.5 times the usual level. During the same period, more than $2 billion in S&P 500 futures contracts also changed hands.
About 15 minutes later, U.S. President Donald Trump announced that he had withdrawn threats to attack Iran's energy facilities. Brent crude prices fell by as much as 14 percent after the announcement, while stocks surged sharply.
Analysts in the CFTC's Division of Market Oversight prepared a formal enforcement filing after identifying those involved in the trades. However, Bloomberg reported that Mel Gunewardena, a senior adviser to CFTC Chair Michael Selig, who was appointed by Trump, allegedly asked his supervisor to withdraw the document. Career officials were also allegedly excluded from the investigation.
A CFTC official said the initial findings focused on U.S. markets. CFTC management later determined that a broader review of international markets was needed, covering futures, swaps and over-the-counter transactions.
Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren called for Selig and Gunewardena to testify before Congress. The U.S. Department of Justice also launched a parallel investigation into the matter.
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