Key Takeaways:
FBI Director Kash Patel violated the STOCK Act by failing to disclose a six-figure purchase of Strategy shares for more than six months, reigniting calls to ban federal officials from trading individual stocks.
FBI Director Kash Patel purchased between $100,001 and $250,000 of Strategy (MSTR) shares on Nov. 21 but did not report the trade to regulators until May 26, roughly 186 days past the 45-day deadline required under the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge Act for trades exceeding $1,000.
"Patel's delayed filing is violating the law — no other way to put it," Dylan Hedtler-Gaudette, acting vice president of policy and government affairs at the Project on Government Oversight, told NOTUS.
Patel attributed the omission to an unspecified "miscommunication" in a letter to the Office of Government Ethics. Deputy Assistant Attorney General William Taylor wrote on May 28 that the purchase did not represent a conflict of interest, stating Patel "is in compliance with applicable laws and regulations governing conflicts of interest." First-time STOCK Act violations carry a $200 fine, but the Department of Justice has not penalized Patel, an FBI official said.
The trade has drawn scrutiny because Strategy, which calls itself a "Bitcoin Treasury Company," has done millions of dollars in business with the Justice Department over the past decade. The company holds 847,363 BTC, worth over $50 billion as of this writing. MSTR shares have lost roughly half their value since Patel's purchase, though the company remains the largest publicly listed bitcoin holder globally.
The FBI actively investigates cryptocurrency scams, including fraudulent investment schemes, and Patel has previously commended the agency's track record in the crypto space. Watchdog groups including the Project on Government Oversight have renewed calls to ban federal officials from trading individual stocks, arguing that delayed disclosures undermine public trust regardless of intent. More than 30 members of Congress were late in filing STOCK Act disclosures over the past year, according to NOTUS.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.
