Billionaire, Founder of Galleon Group, Charged With Insider Trading
Listed by Forbes as number 559 of the worlds richest people, Raj Rajaratnam was worth $1.3 billion. Sadly, some of those funds may have been ill-begotten. Yesterday the US Attorneys of the Southern District of New York charged Rajaratnam with securities fraud pursuant to the insider trading portions statutes 15 U.S.C. §§ 78j(b), 78ff; 17 C.F.R. §§ 240.10b-5, and 240.10b5-2. AllegedlyRajaratnam obtained inside information from another hedge fund operator, and traded upon it, making several million dollars. He was also charged with conspiracy. The maximum possible penalty for the sum of all 13 charges against Rajaratnam is 200 years and $46 million, or twice the gross gain or loss on each charge. A stiff price to pay for tricky dealing on Wall Street.
The US Attorney's press release may be found here, the criminal complaint (charging instrument) here, and the remarks of Preet Bharara, the United State's Attorney for the Southern District of New York, can be found here.