IBM, Intel execs arrested in insider trading scheme

Jake Widman
Saturday, 17 October 2009 00:16

IT Policy - Regulation

A second example featured Goel allegedly giving Rajaratnam inside information about Intel earnings and about a company Intel had invested in. Rajaratnam or his agent then allegedly executed trades in Goel's personal account based on inside info about other companies.

The other two examples describe Kumar allegedly providing information about AMD ventures, and Chiesi allegedly providing information obtained from an executive at Akamai Technologies.

According to the AP report, the arrests came after an unidentified participant in the scheme began cooperating with investigators and helped them obtain tapes of the defendants' conversations.

The six have been charged with conspiracy and securities fraud.  In addition to other penalties, the SEC has asked -- in a delightful turn of phrase -- that the defendants be ordered to "disgorge their ill-gotten gains."

"What we have uncovered in the trading activities of Raj Rajaratnam is that the secret of his success is not genius trading strategies," said Robert Khuzami, director of the SEC’s Division of Enforcement. "He is not the astute study of company fundamentals or marketplace trends that he is widely thought to be.

"Raj Rajaratnam is not a master of the universe, but rather a master of the rolodex," he continued.

U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara told the AP that the case should put the financial community on notice. "Greed is not good," Bharara said. "This case should be a wake-up call for Wall Street."