Former U.S. Representative George Santos Banned for Life from Kalshi and Fined $71,400 for Manipulating His Own Appearance Market

Odaily News - Prediction market platform Kalshi has permanently banned former U.S. Representative George Santos and fined him $71,400. Kalshi determined that he manipulated the market related to his own attendance at the State of the Union address and profited $17,800 from it.

In a disciplinary notice issued on August 28, Kalshi's compliance department stated that Santos executed multiple large trades in the relevant market between February 2 and 25. Because he could influence the market outcome, platform rules prohibited him from trading in that market; he subsequently made false or misleading statements regarding his attendance arrangements in an attempt to influence the prices of the "Yes" and "No" contracts.

Kalshi determined that the statements were intended to manipulate prices and did in fact cause price movements, leading to findings that he violated rules on market manipulation, trading on event outcomes, and fraudulent manipulation, and he was also penalized for failing to cooperate with the investigation. This penalty marks the first time Kalshi has issued a lifetime ban against a former member of Congress. (Decrypt)