The FBI searched the home of the founder of Polymarket

The search of the Manhattan house, which began at six in the morning, came as a surprise to Coplan, notes the New York Post. FBI agents confiscated the businessman’s personal phone and other electronic devices.

Koplan was not given the reason for the search and was not charged or detained. The New York Times source told the newspaper that the federal agents’ activities were authorized by the court, but did not provide other details.

A New York Post source suggested this was “political retaliation” by the outgoing White House administration in response to Polymarket’s accurate prediction of Donald Trump’s victory in the US presidential election.

According to Bloomberg, US law enforcement authorities suspect that Polymarket accepts bets from users in the United States, which is prohibited by a 2022 settlement agreement between the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and the company that owns the service.

Shortly after the search, Coplan publicly accused President Joseph Biden’s administration of trying to go after companies that were undesirable to the current administration. “Officials should reflect and recognize that a more pro-business and startup-oriented approach could be exactly what would change their electoral results,” the businessman noted on his page X.

Tesla and SpaceX director Elon Musk also responded to the FBI’s actions, calling the search a “disaster” on social network X.

The FBI and the US Attorney General’s office declined to comment on the incident in response to requests from Al Jazeera, NYT, NYP and CNBC.

Polymarket became widely known after its users began placing a significant number of bets on the outcome of the US presidential election. Before Election Day, more than $3.7 billion were collectively bet on either Trump or Harris to win.

A week earlier, The Big Whale, citing sources close to the investigation, reported that Polymarket was being monitored by France’s National Gaming Authority.