Rajat Gupta Convicted of Insider Trading

The conviction of Rajat Gupta in June 2012 on four counts of securities fraud and conspiracy marked the end of a legal proceeding that had captivated both the business world and the Indian-American community — not because the charges were surprising, but because of who Rajat Gupta was.

Gupta had been, by any measure, one of the most distinguished figures in the history of South Asian professional achievement in America. He had risen to be the managing director of McKinsey & Company, one of the world's most prestigious consulting firms. He sat on the boards of Goldman Sachs, Procter & Gamble, and numerous other prominent corporations and philanthropic organizations. He had been a significant figure in global health philanthropy and in efforts to develop business education in India. His trajectory — from IIT Delhi to Harvard Business School to the top of global management consulting — was the kind of story that was held up as an exemplar.

The charges, and ultimately the conviction, centered on his provision of material, non-public information to hedge fund manager Raj Rajaratnam of Galleon Group, who was already serving time following his own conviction in one of the largest insider trading cases in American history. Gupta had tipped Rajaratnam about Goldman Sachs board discussions, including Warren Buffett's planned investment in Goldman during the 2008 financial crisis.

Judge Jed Rakoff sentenced Gupta to two years in prison.

The case raised questions beyond the specific legal issues: about the culture of quid pro quo information sharing in elite business circles, about the different standards applied to different kinds of financial crime, and about whether a life of genuine achievement and contribution is relevant context for judgment. The jury concluded it was not relevant enough to acquit.

Source: SEC Litigation Release No. 22582 (sec.gov).