FBI agents have reportedly seized Polymarket CEO Shayne Coplan’s phone and electronics, following a raid at his Manhattan residence. The criminal investigation, carried out by the FBI and the U.S. attorney’s office for the Southern District of New York, comes a week after the US Presidential elections.
According to a report by the NYPost, sources close to the matter suspect that the raid was “political retribution.” The crypto-powered gambling website allowed US users to place bets in violation of a settlement with the government, sources added.
Polymarket accurately predicted the win of Donald Trump over Vice President Kamala Harris in contrast with traditional opinion polls.
“This is obvious political retribution by the outgoing administration against Polymarket for providing a market that correctly called the 2024 presidential election.”
The 26-year-old Coplan’s house was raided at 6.00 a.m. on Wednesday by the agents, who demanded him to turn over his phone and other electronic devices, the report read.
One source called the raid a “grand political theatre at its worst.”
“They could have asked his lawyer for any of these things,” the informant told the Post. “Instead, they staged a so-called raid so they can leak it to the media and use it for obvious political reasons.”
Further, sources suspect that the government is taking advantage of liberal media reports that report against Polymarket of market manipulation.
It’s discouraging that the current administration would seek a last-ditch effort to go after companies they deem to be associated with political opponents. We are deeply committed to being non-partisan, and today is no different, but the incumbents should do some self-reflecting…
— Shayne Coplan
(@shayne_coplan) November 13, 2024
The Raid Was “Court-Authorised”
Per a New York Times report, a law enforcement official confirmed that the FBI agents conducted “court-authorized law enforcement activity.”
Coplan was not arrested and has not been charged, a Polymarket spokesperson confirmed. The website representative added that Polymarket is a “fully transparent prediction market,” helping people better understand the events that matter.
“We charge no fees, take no trading positions, and allow observers from around the world to analyze all market data as a public good.”
The betting platform showed Trump with a 58.6% chance of winning, a day before the election day, with Kamala Harris’ odds at 41.4%. Billionaires like Peter Thiel have supported the Polymarket, raising $70 million in funding, Forbes reported earlier.
Per Bloomberg, the DOJ is conducting a separate investigation on Polymarket for allegedly allowing U.S.-based users to bet.
The election betting site ran into trouble in 2022, and paid a $1.4m fine to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. The platform failed to register with the agency as required and was forced to pause trading at the same time.
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