Former Trump Aide Alleges $400 Million Market Manipulation Tied To Trump: 'A Financial Operation'

Skybridge Capital co-founder and former White House Communications Director Anthony Scaramucci alleged Friday that President Donald Trump‘s administration orchestrated a massive insider trading scheme tied to geopolitical announcements that yielded up to $400 million in illicit profits. The $400 Million Strike Moratorium In a recent video statement on X, Scaramucci detailed highly suspicious trading activity occurring just one hour before Trump announced a five-day moratorium on Iran strikes. According to Scaramucci, insiders purchased $1.5 billion in notional S&P E-mini futures contracts. This was about four to six times the normal market volume. This took place alongside a simultaneous purchase of $192 million in crude oil futures. “They made between $300 and $400 million dollars off those trades,” Scaramucci claimed. He further alleged that Trump fabricated a phone call with an Iranian official to justify the market-moving moratorium, noting that Iranian authorities denied the conversation ever took place. “These people are making hundreds upon hundreds of millions of dollars trading on information that only exists inside the most powerful office in the world,” Scaramucci said. “This isn’t politics anymore. This is a financial operation running out of the White House.” The White House did not immediately respond to Benzinga’s request for comment. Let me walk you through what happened one hour before Trump announced the five day moratorium on Iran strikes.$1.5 billion in notional S&P E-mini futures contracts. Four to six times normal activity.One hour before the announcement.Simultaneously, $192 million in crude oil… pic.twitter.com/wkQ0PNRvtV— Anthony Scaramucci (@Scaramucci) April 2, 2026 A Pattern Of Suspicious Trades Scaramucci's accusations compound a growing list of market anomalies surrounding the administration’s foreign policy. Earlier in March, SPY call options skyrocketed an unprecedented 24,650% in roughly 80 minutes after Trump unexpectedly declared the Iran conflict “very complete.” Additionally, the Pentagon recently faced intense scrutiny following reports that a broker for Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth attempted to move millions into defense ETFs just weeks before the U.S. launched military operations. The Pentagon vehemently denied the report, calling it “fabricated.” Global Mockery The alleged market manipulation has even drawn taunts from foreign adversaries. Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf recently mocked Trump's market-moving statements, calling them a “setup for profit-taking” and advising Wall Street to treat the administration’s updates as a “reverse indicator.” “Whatever you call it,” Scaramucci warned the public regarding the administration’s trading, “they are laughing at you and they are laughing at me while they do it.” US Markets Decline In 2026 Amid War The S&P 500 index has declined 4.02% year-to-date. Similarly, the Nasdaq Composite index was down 5.84%, and the Dow Jones tumbled 3.88% YTD. However, the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSE:SPY) and Invesco QQQ Trust ETF (NASDAQ:QQQ), which track the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 indices, respectively, closed higher on Thursday. The SPY was up 0.090% at $655.83, while the QQQ advanced 0.11% to $584.98. Meanwhile, Dow tracker, State Street SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF Trust (NYSE:DIA), fell 0.090% to close at $465.06 on Thursday. Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors. Photo courtesy: Al Teich / Shutterstock