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05/18/26 | Articles and TV
David Kovel of Kirby McInerney LLP Appears On 60 Minutes to Discuss Market Dynamics and Potential Insider Trading Tied to Geopolitical Events
NEW YORK — Kirby McInerney’s Co-Managing Partner David Kovel appeared in the lead segment on CBS News’ “60 Minutes” on May 17, 2026 to discuss growing concerns surrounding suspiciously timed trades connected to geopolitical and military events, raising urgent questions about insider trading, market integrity, and regulatory oversight.
Mr. Kovel, a former commodities trader, examined suspicious trading patterns in the oil futures markets that very shortly preceded announcements made by government officials concerning the war in Iran. In the instance Mr. Kovel discusses, he estimates that the trader in question would have made a profit in the high tens-of-millions of dollars. When asked by host L. Jon Wertheim as to whether this constitutes insider trading, Mr. Kovel stated that without knowing exactly the details, “that’s a natural conclusion to draw.”
According to 60 Minutes, the U.S. Department of Justice is reportedly looking into the suspicious trades. When asked the odds that the government knows the identity of the firms or individuals who executed the trades in question, Mr. Kovel stressed that “if they go to the exchanges, they can know them. Identifying who it was would be the secret to identifying whether it was insider trading or not.”
60 Minutes also interviewed other area experts, including Rob Schwartz, former General Counsel of the CFTC, who discussed alleged insider trading on Polymarket related to the capture of Venezuelan President Nicholas Maduro by a U.S. army soldier involved in the operation. Mr. Schwartz stated that, if the allegations are true, the crime represents “one of the worst betrayals of trust in this area that I can remember.”
All of this suggests that sophisticated traders may be exploiting access to nonpublic information to trade on commodities exchanges and prediction markets that allow users to wager on military actions, geopolitical developments, and other major world events. The segment explored the broader implications for regulators and policymakers as prediction markets continue to expand in popularity and sophistication. The discussion underscored mounting pressure on enforcement agencies to determine whether existing insider trading frameworks adequately address these emerging forms of speculative trading and highlighted the national security risks posted by insider trading on predictive markets, the patterns of which are visible to adversaries.
Kirby McInerney is actively investigating this matter. For more information, please contact us at info@kmllp.com, and to watch the segment, please visit CBS News’ “60 Minutes” (https://www.cbs.com/shows/video/ALVE01KR04HK8FEWARTJEZK6G65Z53/).
Mr. Kovel, a former commodities trader, examined suspicious trading patterns in the oil futures markets that very shortly preceded announcements made by government officials concerning the war in Iran. In the instance Mr. Kovel discusses, he estimates that the trader in question would have made a profit in the high tens-of-millions of dollars. When asked by host L. Jon Wertheim as to whether this constitutes insider trading, Mr. Kovel stated that without knowing exactly the details, “that’s a natural conclusion to draw.”
According to 60 Minutes, the U.S. Department of Justice is reportedly looking into the suspicious trades. When asked the odds that the government knows the identity of the firms or individuals who executed the trades in question, Mr. Kovel stressed that “if they go to the exchanges, they can know them. Identifying who it was would be the secret to identifying whether it was insider trading or not.”
60 Minutes also interviewed other area experts, including Rob Schwartz, former General Counsel of the CFTC, who discussed alleged insider trading on Polymarket related to the capture of Venezuelan President Nicholas Maduro by a U.S. army soldier involved in the operation. Mr. Schwartz stated that, if the allegations are true, the crime represents “one of the worst betrayals of trust in this area that I can remember.”
All of this suggests that sophisticated traders may be exploiting access to nonpublic information to trade on commodities exchanges and prediction markets that allow users to wager on military actions, geopolitical developments, and other major world events. The segment explored the broader implications for regulators and policymakers as prediction markets continue to expand in popularity and sophistication. The discussion underscored mounting pressure on enforcement agencies to determine whether existing insider trading frameworks adequately address these emerging forms of speculative trading and highlighted the national security risks posted by insider trading on predictive markets, the patterns of which are visible to adversaries.
Kirby McInerney is actively investigating this matter. For more information, please contact us at info@kmllp.com, and to watch the segment, please visit CBS News’ “60 Minutes” (https://www.cbs.com/shows/video/ALVE01KR04HK8FEWARTJEZK6G65Z53/).
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