> Is it possible to trace this stuff back to individuals?

Yes, depending where the trades were based and their market participants' KYC rigor.

As the article mentions, the CFTC "is examining a series of trades in oil futures placed shortly before major shifts in President Donald Trump's Iran war policy" [1]. If the "lots of Brent crude futures" the article mentioned traded on the Intercontinental Exchange [2], when we can almost certainly trace it back to at least some individuals.

[1] https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/us-probes-suspicious...

[2] https://www.ice.com/products/219/Brent-Crude-Futures/data