Regulators looking at three firms over multimillion-dollar trades before Trump’s Iran war announcement, report says

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Several financial firms that profited from well-timed oil trades, made shortly before President Donald Trump announced new developments in the Iran war, are being looked at by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, according to a new report.

Moments before Trump announced he would postpone bombing Iran’s infrastructure on March 23, more than $800 millon worth of oil futures were exchanged – with at least three firms profiting from more than $15 million combined, according to data and records seen by the Wall Street Journal.

A similar pattern has emerged over the last few months, with a volume of trades made on April 7, hours before Trump announced a temporary ceasefire with Iran; April 17, minutes before Iran’s Foreign Minister announced the Strait of Hormuz was open; and April 21, minutes before Trump announced he would extend the ceasefire with Iran.

It’s led the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, an independent agency that regulates futures, swaps and bets, to open an inquiry into whether some people had insider information – though it can be difficult to determine.

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission is interested in the three firms, according to documents seen by the Journal, but they have not been accused of wrongdoing. It’s unclear why they’ve become subject to the inquiry.

Moments before President Trump made announcements related to the Iran war, the number of oil future trades increased (AFP/Getty)

Documents obtained by the Journal indicated the firms were Qube Research & Technologies, a London-based investment management firm, which earned roughly $5 million in adjusted gains; Totsa, the trading arm of French-based energy company TotalEnergies, made roughly $200,000; and Forza Fund Ltd., netted approximately $10 million.

The Independent has asked the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, TotalEnergies and Metabit Trading for comment.

In a statement to The Independent, Qube Research & Technologies said: “We are not aware of the mentioned investigation and as of today have not been contacted by the CFTC.”

TotalEnergies told the Journal it was “not aware of any CFTC investigation” into its crude oil trading activities and said Totsa “is firmly committed to complying with all applicable market regulations, enforces a strict market compliance program and has a zero-tolerance policy towards any wrongdoing.”

Metabit Trading, a Chinese-based firm associated with Forza Fund Ltd., also told the Journal it hadn’t been contacted by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

It’s not unusual for people to make trades based on oil price predictions, but the timing and volume of the trades have raised eyebrows, especially because oil has been sensitive to geopolitical tensions.

Ongoing tensions between the US and Iran in the Strait of Hormuz have caused global oil prices to fluxuate (AFP/Getty)

Trump’s war with Iran has caused major oil transportation disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz, which has experienced on-and-off again closures after the U.S. began a blockade on Iran’s ports. The Strait is an essential waterway responsible for transporting roughly 25 percent of the world’s oil.

As a result, oil prices have fluctuated consistently.

Investigating how the trades on oil futures were made is likely to be complex because some firms utilize automated systems that rely on algorithms from data sources to make decisions.

Other firms that have been approached by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission have said trading decisions were made after headlines appeared indicating the president was looking to end the Iran war, people familiar with the probe told the Journal.

In addition to the inquiry into the oil trades, at least one separate investigation is being made into bets made on prediction markets, NBC News reported.

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