US expands case against ex-Goldman director Gupta

New York: Federal prosecutors have expanded their insider trading case against former Goldman Sachs Group Inc director Rajat Gupta, saying the illegal activity lasted longer and involved more trades than alleged. An amended indictment made public on Tuesday expands the period in which Gupta supposedly provided illegal tips to former Galleon Group hedge fund founder Raj Rajaratnam, now serving an 11-year prison term following his insider trading conviction. Gary Naftalis, a lawyer for Gupta, did not immediately return a call seeking comment. [caption id=“attachment_199430” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“The former McKinsey chief and ex-Goldman Sachs director exits the Manhattan Federal Court after attending a pre-trial hearing on insider-trading charges in New York on 5 January 2012. Reuters”]  [/caption] Gupta is a former worldwide chief at the consulting firm McKinsey & Co, and is the most prominent business executive accused of wrongdoing in a wide-ranging government insider trading probe centered on hedge funds. According to the amended indictment, Rajaratnam bought at least 350,000 Goldman shares on 12 March 2007, soon after the audit committee of Goldman’s board, including Gupta, discussed the better-than-expected quarterly results that the bank would release the next day. It also said Rajaratnam sold 180,000 shares of Procter & Gamble Co short on 29 January 2009, after learning details from Gupta, who sat on P&G’s board, about that company’s expected earnings announcement the next day. Gupta was previously accused in October 2011 of tipping Rajaratnam about Goldman’s activities in September and October 2008, resulting in several trades. Both indictments charge Gupta with five counts of securities fraud and one count of conspiracy. Reuters