A BBC investigation has identified a recurring pattern of unusually large financial bets placed minutes or hours before major announcements by US President Donald Trump, spanning oil futures markets, stock indices, and online prediction platforms. Analysing trade volume data across multiple markets, the BBC matched spikes in activity to at least five significant Trump statements — including a 90-day tariff pause in April 2025 and declarations about the US-Israel-Iran conflict in early 2026 — with traders in some cases earning tens of millions of dollars from the resulting price swings. Financial regulation experts warn the pattern bears the hallmarks of insider trading, though prosecutions remain rare because authorities must first identify who leaked the information, and none of the US financial regulators contacted by the BBC confirmed they are investigating the allegations.