Israeli Prosecutors Indict IDF Reservist for Using Classified Military Information to Trade on Polymarket

Israeli reservist indicted for Polymarket gambling on IDF

An Israeli civilian and an IDF reservist were indicted on Monday in the Tel Aviv District Court on charges of exploiting classified military information to place wagers on the prediction-market platform Polymarket.

The case concerns acute operational-security risks during wartime, according to the authorities, the court reported Thursday.

The court partially lifted a sweeping gag order that had been imposed on the affair. It only authorized publication of a prosecution-approved outline of the core allegations and the investigative bodies involved.

The suspects were arrested in a joint operation involving the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency), a Defense Ministry’s investigative unit, and the Israel Police. The investigators suspected that reservists had been betting on the timing of military operations based on classified information they had access to during their service.

The prosecutors said they had discovered evidence that incriminated the civilian and the reservist and would prosecute them for “serious security offenses,” bribery, and obstruction of justice.

AI, the SEC, and the 2026 Reporting Season

The SEC Embraced AI Internally with AI Task Force and Chief AI Officer

One of the clearest 2025 developments was institutional when the SEC announced the creation of an AI Task Force to centralize and accelerate responsible AI integration across the SEC, with an emphasis on governance and lifecycle management. The SEC also publicly identified its Chief AI Officer as leading the task force, underscoring that the initiative is meant to be durable and cross-divisional rather than ad hoc experimentation. Separately, the SEC maintained an Artificial Intelligence at the SEC landing page that highlights internal planning, including the SEC’s 2025 AI Compliance Plan aligned with OMB AI guidance.

Why This Matters for Issuers

The Commission’s internal build is not just operational, it is also a signal that AI governance and controls are becoming table stakes. As the SEC adopts AI-enabled tools, its expectations for how registrants manage similar risks (like data provenance, human oversight, testing/validation, vendor management and documentation) are likely to become more concrete in exams, comment letters, and enforcement.

Cleary Gottlieb Discusses the Shifting SEC Enforcement Landscape

The SEC is expected to continue prioritizing enforcement actions focused on insider trading, accounting and disclosure fraud, offering fraud, Ponzi schemes, market manipulation and breaches of fiduciary duties by investment advisers. Conversely, Chairman Atkins has advised that SEC resources should not go toward “enforcement actions in areas, such as retention of books and records, that consume excessive Commission resources not commensurate with any measure of investor harm.” In other words, as noted by then-Acting Director of Enforcement and now Principal Deputy Director Sam Waldon, the Enforcement Division is focused on “perennial areas of enforcement,” and is no longer in the business of pursuing “[c]reativ[e]” enforcement actions.

So far, the enforcement data supports these statements by SEC leadership. According to data from the 2025 Cornerstone Report, three out of four actions brought against public companies under the new administration alleged issuer reporting and disclosure violations…

Further, the reduced headcount at the SEC means that enforcement actions will likely be more focused on cases involving significant harm or risk of harm to investors, especially retail investors. We expect to see these priorities translate into a rise in enforcement actions involving significant accounting errors and restatements, especially if accompanied by a large drop in stock price….

The reduction in staff provides an opportunity for entities under investigation to earn cooperation credit and shape the narrative of an investigation by thoughtfully engaging with SEC staff, such as by giving an early presentation on the issues or providing key documents early in an investigation….

SEC enforcement director outlines priorities in first public remarks

Takeaways

Judge Ryan’s first public remarks are a timely guide to the enforcement priorities of the current administration. Like Chairman Atkins, Judge Ryan criticized the aggressive approach by the prior administration and emphasized her plan to focus on fraudulent conduct that harms investors. Judge Ryan also signaled a more balanced—but not hands-off—approach to non-fraud rule violations, indicating that the Division will pursue some but not all such actions and would consider creative resolutions. We will be following closely the Enforcement Division’s case selection to see how it applies these principles in practice.