FBI Director Kash Patel failed to properly disclose a six-figure purchase of stock in bitcoin-focused business intelligence firm Strategy, according to a report by nonpartisan outlet NOTUS. Patel bought between $100,001 and $250,000 worth of MSTR shares on Nov. 21 but did not report the trade to federal regulators until May 26, more than six months after the required deadline, documents cited by NOTUS showed.
The Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge (STOCK) Act requires high-ranking executive branch officials to publicly disclose stock trades over $1,000 within 45 days. In a May 26 letter to the Office of Government Ethics obtained by NOTUS, Patel said he “inadvertently omitted” the transaction due to an unspecified “miscommunication.” Patel’s the late reporting “was not realized and unintentional,” an FBI official told NOTUS.
The delay has drawn scrutiny because Strategy is a government contractor that has done millions of dollars in business with the Justice Department, of which the FBI is a part, and because the FBI actively investigates cryptocurrency fraud. Patel has publicly touted his bureau’s crypto enforcement record, including a $15 billion bitcoin seizure he cited on X in June. Strategy calls itself a “Bitcoin Treasury Company” and has accumulated 847,363 BTC, worth more than $50 billion, since 2020.
Deputy Assistant Attorney General William Taylor said in a May 28 letter obtained by NOTUS that Patel’s purchase does not represent a conflict of interest, and that Patel “is in compliance with applicable laws and regulations.” Government watchdogs disagree. Dylan Hedtler-Gaudette of the Project on Government Oversight told NOTUS that the late filing “absolutely” a STOCK Act violation.
First-time violations carry a $200 fine, which the DoJ has not imposed on Patel, one FBI official was quoted as saying by NOTUS.
This is not the first time Patel’s personal trading has drawn attention. In May 2025, he purchased up to $50,000 in stock in Krispy Kreme, which was later targeted by shareholder lawsuits tied to a 2024 data breach the FBI was separately investigating.
Strategy’s stock, meanwhile, has been under heavy pressure, falling to a two-year low in June amid questions about the company’s ability to cover roughly $1.5 billion in annual preferred dividend obligations without selling bitcoin. The stock has lost about half its value since Patel’s purchase.
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