Friday, April 12, 2013

Is SEC Setting us up?

Out of 26 Odd People Under Trial in The Galleon case, Gupta is in The Few Facing Civil Instead of Criminal Proceedings. Is The SEC setting The Stage for an Escape Route?

The verdict is finally out, loud & clear. Good guys have won yet another round (apparently)! The nailing of Galleon Group hedge fund (managing over $7 billion before closing in October 2009) tycoon Raj Rajaratnam has been brandished around by SEC in an attempt to project the view that the US legal setup is still not a set-up in US when it comes to chasten influential financial-world figures. One has to accept to SEC’s credit, the Galleon case is the biggest blow against insider trading in a generation as the trial involved some of the most high-profile executives on the Wall Street. But hold on to your beer barrels, we just might have been had by the SEC.

First the empirical evidence. No doubt, there have been cases in the past where people have been caught for their crimes, but almost all of them (except a few; see chart) surprisingly escaped unscathed. Even the government has tried to curb cases and incidences of insider trading by putting in place laws like SOX (the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002), but much in vain. According to data compiled by Bloomberg, while there were just 70 hedge funds managing $39 billion in 1990, the number had grown to a whopping 2,600 (managing $1.7 trillion) by the end of 2010. And so, one may presume, the cases of insider trading.

However, this time, thanks to the diligent prosecutors and FBI agents involved in the case that Rajaratnam, a Sri Lanka born US citizen, was finally found guilty of conspiracy and securities fraud on all 14 counts, and now awaits sentencing on July 29, 2011, which is most likely to put him behind bars for the next decade or so (or even more!). Rajaratnam is said to have made over $60 million by illegally trading on secret tips from bankers, consultants, traders, directors, and former employees of some big companies, including Goldman Sachs (GS) and McKinsey. Apart from Rajaratnam, there are more than 40 people who are now facing insider trading charges stemming from a nationwide investigation that has roots going back to 1998.

But now that Rajratnam is down, what awaits Rajat Gupta?
As one would know, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), on March 1, 2011, accused Gupta of illegally tipping Rajaratnam with insider information about Goldman Sachs and Procter & Gamble while serving on the boards of both companies. For instance, in October 2008, Gupta apparently attended a Board meeting of Goldman Sachs where it was revealed that Berkshire Hathway, owned by the legendary investor Warren Buffett, would invest $5 billion in the company to bail it out of trouble. SEC has evidence that Gupta passed on this information to Rajaratnam, who in turn made a killing. In fact, wiretaps of phone conversations between Gupta and Rajaratnam released by prosecutors during Rajaratnam’s trial clearly show that Gupta discussed the details of Goldman Sachs board meetings with Rajaratnam, including the company’s plan to buy some other financial firms like Wachovia and AIG.


Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.
An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri
 
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