Rajat Gupta convicted of insider trading

Rajat Gupta, a former board member of Goldman Sachs, was found guilty on four criminal counts of insider trading, according to the BBC.

The jury in a New York federal court acquitted Gupta of two other charges. Gupta will be sentenced on Oct. 18, and faces up to 20 years in jail, said the BBC.

Gupta, who was a managing partner at McKinsey & Co., and a director at Proctor & Gamble, was convicted of leaking insider information to hedge-fund manager Raj Rajaratnam, reported Bloomberg.

The outcome was a victory for the government because the case was built largely on circumstantial evidence and lacked the wiretaps and witnesses of other cases, according to The New York Times.

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The prosecution's case showed a pattern of phone records, e-mails and trading logs that indicated that Gupta would pass on information after board meetings.

Bharara said in a statement, "Violating clear and sacrosanct duties of confidentiality, Mr. Gupta illegally provided a virtual open line into the board room for his benefactor and business partner, Raj Rajaratnam," according to Bloomberg.

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Gary P. Naftalis, a lawyer for Gupta, said Gupta was likely to appeal, according to The Times. He said, "We believe the facts of this demonstrate that Mr. Gupta is innocent and we continue to believe he is innocent of all the charges."

According to Bloomberg, the US has brought cases against 66 traders and sources to date. Six cases are pending, and no one has won an acquittal.

Rajaratnam, who was found guilty on 14 counts of insider trading, is serving an 11-year prison term, according to Reuters.

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