US soldier faces 60 years prison time after $400,000 Polymarket bets on Maduro removal
Callum Jones
Featured Image Credit: XNY/Star Max/GC Images
A US solider involved in the capture of Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro earlier this year has been arrested and faces up to 60 years in prison after allegedly cashing in on $400,000 over the leader's removal.
Gannon Ken Van Dyke has been charged by the Department of Justice (DOJ) after allegedly making trades on Polymarket regarding classified information which was not public knowledge.
Van Dyke is believed to have won more than $409,000 through the crypto-powered platform after making bets on the timing and outcome of the operation that saw US forces capture Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores on January 3 this year.
Maduro and his wife were captured in their compound in Caracas, the capital of Venezuela, in a dramatic overnight operation.
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They were then extradited to New York to face allegations of weapon and drug offences, all of which they deny.
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said: "Our men and women in uniform are trusted with classified information in order to accomplish their mission as safely and effectively as possible, and are prohibited from using this highly sensitive information for personal financial gain.
"Widespread access to prediction markets is a relatively new phenomenon, but federal laws protecting national security information fully apply."
Meanwhile, FBI Assistant Director in Charge James C. Barnacle Jr added: "Gannon Ken Van Dyke allegedly betrayed his fellow soldiers by utilizing classified information for his own financial gain.
"Van Dyke profited more than $400,000 by trading various outcomes related to Venezuela after learning of the operation because of his role as a U.S. Army soldier. The FBI will continue to investigate threats to our nation's security especially from those entrusted to safeguard sensitive classified information and military operations."
The US solider has been charged with commodities and wire fraud, as well as unlawful use of confidential government information for personal gain.
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has also filed a complaint against Van Dyke, accusing him of engaging in insider trading.
Following the news, Polymarket said in a statement posted to social media: "When we identified a user trading on classified government information, we referred the matter to the DOJ & cooperated with their investigation.
"Insider trading has no place on Polymarket. Today's arrest is proof the system works."
When asked by press on Thursday about the arrest, Donald Trump said he had not heard anything about it but would be looking into it.
"The whole world, unfortunately, has become somewhat of a casino, and you look at what's going on all over the world, in Europe and every place, they're doing these betting things," the president added. "I was never much in favour of it."
The 'kidnapped' president is being held at the Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC) in Brooklyn, New York, a jail notorious for its tough conditions and for having housed high profile inmates, such as Jeffrey Epstein's accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell and disgraced rapper Sean 'Diddy' Combs.
Though Maduro's son, Nicolás Maduro Guerra, previously insisted his father is in 'high spirits' and is 'very strong' through daily exercise, it's uncertain to know how he will be coping in a jail that has been criticized for its 'inhumane' and 'dangerous' conditions.
Cameron Lindsay, a former director of the facility, spoke to CNN and said they would expect Maduro's routine to be '23 hours a day in solitary confinement' due to his high-profile status.