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Kalshi said it has permanently banned former U.S. Rep. George Santos after its compliance department concluded there was reasonable cause to believe he engaged in insider trading on the platform.
According to the company, the matter centered on bets about whether Santos would attend the State of the Union address. Kalshi said the lifetime ban took effect Friday, Aug. 28, and also included a financial penalty.
Kalshi says Santos traded on a market he could influence
Kalshi said Santos was prohibited from trading in the market because he was capable of influencing the outcome himself. The company said he placed large bets between Feb. 2 and Feb. 25 on whether he would attend the event.
The platform said its compliance department found reasonable cause to believe Santos used inside knowledge related to that outcome. Kalshi also said Santos later made public statements intended to influence the price of those bets and that some of those statements were false or misleading.
In a statement quoted by WGRZ, Kalshi’s compliance department said: “Some of these included false or misleading statements.”
Profit and penalty detailed by the platform
Kalshi said Santos made a $17,839 profit from the trading activity. The company said it imposed a $71,356 penalty in addition to the permanent ban.
The ban, according to Kalshi, prevents Santos from accessing the platform either directly or indirectly.
For prediction market users, the case is a reminder that platform integrity rules can extend beyond traditional sports betting issues. Here, the operator said the violation involved trading on an event outcome the participant could personally affect.
What remains unclear
Based on the source report, Kalshi did not detail the specific evidence behind its finding beyond saying there was reasonable cause to believe insider trading occurred.
The report also did not say whether Santos has responded to the ban, whether he can appeal it, or whether any outside regulator or law enforcement agency is reviewing the matter.
WGRZ also noted that Santos was sentenced to seven years in prison after pleading guilty to fraud and identity theft in 2024, and that after serving 84 days he was ordered released by President Donald Trump.
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Source: As reported by wgrz.com.
