The former Goldman Sachs director Mr Rajat Gupta, one of the most prominent Indian-Americans in the country’s financial scene, is likely to surrender before authorities here today as prosecutors are expected to file criminal charges against him in a massive insider trading scheme.
A report in the New York Times quoted people briefed on the matter as saying that criminal charges would be filed against Mr Gupta.
The report quoted Mr Gary Naftalis, a lawyer for 62-year-old Mr Gupta, who said, “The facts demonstrate that Mr Gupta is an innocent man and that he acted with honesty and integrity.”
“The case against Mr Gupta would extend the reach of the government’s inquiry into America’s most prestigious corporate boardrooms. The charges would also mean a stunning fall from grace of a trusted adviser to political leaders and chief executives of the world’s most celebrated companies,” it said.
Mr Gupta was the former director of Goldman Sachs and Procter & Gamble and head of McKinsey & Company.
He came under the scanner after prosecutors charged his friend Sri Lanka born hedge fund billionaire Mr Raj Rajaratnam on insider trading charges. Mr Rajaratnam has been sentenced earlier this month to 11 years in prison.
The NYT report said while there is no indication yet that Mr Gupta profited directly from the information he passed to Mr Rajaratnam, securities laws prohibit company insiders from divulging corporate secrets to those who then profit from them.