Kalshi Attorneys Alerted Prosecutors to Polymarket’s U.S. Access Before FBI Raid on CEO’s Apartment

Kalshi attorneys met with prosecutors in Manhattan to raise concerns about Polymarket’s business before the November 2024 FBI raid on the apartment of Polymarket founder and CEO Shayne Coplan, the New York Post reported. The lawyers described how U.S. users could still access Polymarket markets despite restrictions meant to bar Americans.

FBI agents used a battering ram to enter Coplan’s apartment before dawn on November 13, 2024. The search formed part of an investigation into whether Polymarket illegally allowed Americans to place bets. Coplan called the raid political retaliation by the Biden administration.

Polymarket executives grew convinced that Kalshi’s leadership had helped direct federal investigators toward the company. They speculated that someone working for Kalshi or acting on its behalf had followed Coplan, noticed agents outside his apartment on the day of the raid, and tipped off journalists to spread the news quickly. The companies have traded blows for years.

Kalshi was started in 2018 by co-founders and co-CEOs Tarek Mansour and Luana Lopes Lara, who met at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Coplan launched Polymarket in 2020. During one early meeting, Coplan noted that he and Mansour were both raised by single mothers, a remark that made Mansour uncomfortable.

A Kalshi growth team member sent text messages to an influencer asking him to post to his 2.2 million X followers that “this n—a seems guilty” in reference to a photo of Coplan. The influencer posted the message shortly afterward. Kalshi spokesperson Diana said the company learned of the search only through media coverage and regularly communicates with regulators about compliance.