Khaberni - The Norwegian Nobel Foundation announced that it will investigate a possible leak that preceded the awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday to Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, following observations of suspicious betting on the prize.
The odds of Machado winning the Nobel Prize jumped from 3.75% to about 73% on Thursday night to Friday on the betting platform "Poly Market".
"Poly Market" is an American prediction platform that relies on cryptocurrencies, allowing users to place bets on various future events from elections to financial markets, weather, and awards.
However, it is noteworthy that there had been no indication from any expert or media outlet that Machado was among the most likely candidates to win the award, which was announced just a few hours later in Oslo.
The Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation "NRK" quoted data expert Robert Nice as saying, "You don't usually see this in the betting market. It's very suspicious."
Jorgen Watne Frydnes, head of the Nobel Committee, told the Norwegian News Agency, "I don’t think there has been any leak in the entire history of the award. I can't imagine that this is the case."
Nevertheless, the Nobel Foundation will conduct an investigation to determine if there was any leak, according to its director Christian Berg Harpviken.
Harpviken told the newspaper Aftenposten, "It is too early to conclude that there was a leak. But we will look into it now."
Only a limited number of people pre-learn the name of the winner chosen by the five members of the Nobel Committee.
In the past, unexpected names of Nobel Prize candidates appeared in the Norwegian media, prompting speculation about possible leaks, although this was not the case in recent years.
Machado said after the announcement of her winning the award, "I am immensely grateful on behalf of the people of Venezuela; we have not yet reached our goal," in a call that surprised her by Nobel Committee Secretary Christian Berg Harpviken in the middle of the night.
She continued in a video clip of her receiving the news while she was asleep, "We are working hard to achieve this, but I am confident that we will succeed."
