Kalshi bans ex-Congressman George Santos for life over insider trading

The online prediction market platform Kalshi said Monday that it has permanently banned former U.S. Rep. George Santos after concluding the former Republican congressman likely engaged in insider trading when he profited by betting against his attendance at the State of the Union address. The company announced the ban after its compliance department said it had established reasonable cause to believe Santos engaged in insider trading, contributing to speculation over whether he would attend the address before turning a $17,839 profit on his trading activity when he did not. Kalshi spokesperson Elisabeth Diana said it was the first permanent ban in the company’s history. She said those affected by four other new enforcement cases announced Monday would only be banned from trading temporarily because they cooperated with Kalshi’s Compliance Department. The Compliance Department issued the lifetime ban, effective last Friday, against Santos, preventing him from accessing its platform directly or indirectly. The site also imposed a $71,356 penalty. The convicted ex-congressman had repeatedly discussed his intention to attend the State of the Union, which came just four months after he…