Kalshi has issued its first-ever lifetime ban from its prediction market platform, targeting former US congressman George Santos over allegations of insider trading. The company also imposed a $71,356 penalty after determining Santos failed to fully cooperate with its investigation, which stemmed from a scheme flagged to US authorities and previously scrutinised by the Department of Justice and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).

Santos allegedly bought Kalshi contracts betting he would miss this year's State of the Union address after weather disrupted his travel, then sold them for profit once he claimed on social media he would attend, netting more than $17,500. He settled CFTC claims in July by paying over $35,000 and accepting a three-year trading ban, but Kalshi has gone further by barring him permanently, a decision he can appeal to the CFTC. Santos, already known for prior fraud and identity theft convictions, reacted defiantly on X, while the CFTC separately settled a similar case last week with ex-White House aide Gabriel Perez, who agreed to pay over $172,000 for trading on insider knowledge of Donald Trump's speeches.