Introduction
Raj Rajnaratnam is a Sri-Lankan by birth living in US; according to Forbes magazine, Rajnaratnam is among the richest people in US with an estimated worth of over $1.5 billion (Dealbook, Com). In the year 2009, Rajnaratnam was arrested leading to close of Galleon group Company (Dealbook, Com).
Charges against Rajnaratnam
Mr. Rajnaratnam has been accused of committing several crimes including supporting the civil war in Sri Lanka; in 2009, Rajnaratnam was arrested by federal officers in US where he was accused of scheming with other business colleagues in what is referred as insider trading of numerous public listed companies like Google Inc among others (David Glovin, Patricia Hurtado and Van Voris, 2011).
Mr. Rajnaratnam is said to have carried out an extensive scheme together with Rajiv Goel, Anil Kumar, and Robert Moffat who were major sources of information in which Rajnaratnam got away with illegal profits of about $ 20.6 million in a case that was reviewed by the stock commission (David et al, 2011). Rajnaratnam conspired along with a friend, Raj Gupta a CEO of Mckinsey & Company in a case where he was accused as the “co- conspirator” who had played a major role of giving confidential information to Rajnaratnam because he was fully informed as the board member of Goldman Sachs Group Inc (David et al, 2011).
Evidence of the prosecution in the case
In the case of SEC v, Galleon in 2010, the prosecutor was able to prove the following against Mr. Rajnaratnam. First, the prosecution proved that the defendant Mr. Rajnaratnam and others made an attempt to use wiretaps to obtain information illegally by listening to private conversations which they later used to defraud the various companies that they had are accused of (Dealbook.com, 2011).
Secondly, through use of recorded evidence of Rajnaratnam phone calls and wiretaps, the prosecution has also proved that the deal of obtaining insider information by Rajnaratnam and his conspirators had been happening for quite sometimes now. Through evidence of witness testimony the prosecutors were also able to prove that the Galleon group of Companies was able to make illegal profit of over $25 million in the process (Dealbook.com, 2011). As a result, Raj has been charged and the court agreed to open charges against him and he “faces five counts of conspiracy and nine counts of securities fraud” (Dealbook.com, 2011); if found guilty Mr. Raj may face a sentence that is not less than 20 years according to the law (Dealbook.com, 2011).
Defense by Rajnaratnam attorney
Rajnaratnam attorney has maintained that his client is innocent in all the accused charges; Rajnaratnam’s attorney argue that, his client traded on ‘Mosaic’ information which has been put by other companies or organizations for public use which is not restricted to the specific companies that he is being accused of (Dealbook.com, 2011). The defense attorney also states that his client obtained the information by way of research using data that is available to any other public member.
Verdict against Rajnaratnam
Following the hearing of this case, judge of the district court Mr. Howell was advised to dismiss the case based on the argument that the government had failed to present enough evidence to prosecute the defendant, but which he refused (David et al, 2011). According to the securities exchange Act of 1934 individuals faced with charges of insider trading face up to 20years in prison or a fine of $5million if found that the offenders had full knowledge of what they were doing and were aware of the rules governing the Act (Taft.law.uc.edu, 2011).
Hence, if the state is able to prove without reasonable doubt that Rajnaratnam committed the crimes stated, and with full knowledge of rules governing insider trading then, he will be sentenced up to 20 years in prison or a fine of up to $5million or both (Taft.law.uc.edu,2011). The outcome of these deeds impacts the society negatively since investors will shy away from investing in the stock market for fear of losing their investment to such greedy personality. Based on the strength of the evidence presented by the prosecutor it is my opinion that there is a high chance that Rajnaratnam will be found guilty and convicted.
Reference
David Glovin, Patricia Hurtado and Van Voris. Rajnaratnam Prosecution Finishes Case against Galleon Co-Founder. Web.
Dealbook. com. The Galleon Trial. Web.
Taft.law.uc.edu. Securities Lawyer’s Deskbook.Web.