Daijiworld Media Network – Washington

Washington, Nov 16: Former US Federal Reserve governor Adriana Kugler, who stepped down abruptly in August, repeatedly violated the central bank’s strict trading rules, according to disclosures released by the US Office of Government Ethics.

The report reveals that Kugler made multiple stock transactions in 2024 during blackout periods when trading is prohibited for senior Fed officials. The trades involved shares of Apple, Southwest Airlines, Caterpillar, Fortinet, Palo Alto Networks and Cava Group. One of the biggest transactions was an Apple stock purchase worth between $100,000 and $250,000 in April.

Fed regulations, tightened in 2022, bar top officials from trading individual stocks, bonds or cryptocurrencies. Any permitted trade requires 45 days’ prior notice and approval, and no transactions are allowed roughly 10 days before and one day after FOMC meetings. Despite this, several of Kugler’s trades occurred close to policy meetings.

Kugler maintained that the transactions were carried out by her husband without her knowledge, with no intention to violate rules. However, concerns about her holdings had been raised as early as September 2024, and she reportedly sought a waiver from Fed Chair Jerome Powell to regularise impermissible assets. The request was denied.

Kugler missed the July FOMC meeting due to what was described as a personal matter. Shortly after Powell rejected another ethics waiver, she submitted her resignation on August 8 and returned to Georgetown University.

Her departure paved the way for President Donald Trump to appoint economist Stephen Miran to the vacant seat on the Federal Reserve Board of Governors.