Defence rests case against Indian-origin billionaire Raj Rajaratnam
April 19th, 2011 - 1:09 pm ICT by ANIWashington, Apr 18 (ANI): The defence team of Raj Rajaratnam, the Indian-origin billionaire co-founder of the Galleon Group who has been accused of making tens of millions of dollars on insider tips, rested their case on Monday without calling Rajaratnam to the witness stand.
The New York Post quoted Rajaratnam’s lawyers as saying in court that their client had used information from analyst research reports, media reports and other information that was available to the public to make investment decisions and not, as prosecutors allege, illegal tips.
Several witnesses, who were implicated in the conspiracy or had pleaded guilty to conspiracy of securities fraud charges, were called by the defence to testify about the timing of Rajaratnam’s trades to figure out what was available in the public domain at the time he purchased particular securities.
The recordings of the conversations between Rajaratnam and his alleged tipsters like Goldman Sachs director Rajat Gupta, who allegedly earned a million dollar for a piece of information, were played during the hearing.
Prosecutors allege Rajaratnam, who was arrest in October of 2009, earned 63.8 million dollars between 2003 and 2009 using illicitly-obtained information. Of the 26 people originally charged in the case, 19 have pleaded guilty.
Rajaratnam is charged with five counts of conspiracy and nine counts of securities fraud.
The next hearing is reportedly scheduled to take place on Wednesday. (ANI)
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- Rajaratnam jury replays wiretaps of Indian Americans - Apr 27, 2011
- New insider trading probe may help Rajat Gupta - Apr 20, 2012
- Rajat Gupta wins a key ruling, loses on wiretaps - Mar 28, 2012
- Rajaratnam's lawyers rest case, prosecutors end with new wiretap - Apr 19, 2011
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Tags: analyst research, billionaire, co founder, conspiracy, defence team, fraud charges, galleon, galleon group, goldman sachs, indian origin, insider tips, investment decisions, million dollars, new york post, prosecutors, public domain, raj rajaratnam, rajat gupta, securities fraud, tipsters