The 2^nd US Circuit Court of Appeals in New York refused to allow bail to the Galleon Group hedge fund founder Raj Rajaratnam. On October 16, 2009 he was arrested by the FBI on charges of insider trading. This had caused Raj Rajaratnam’s company Galleon Group to close down. On May 11, 2011 he was found guilty of  14 counts of conspiracy and securities fraud. On October 13, 2011 Raj Rajaratnam was sentenced to prison for a term of 11 years by the US District Court for the Southern District of New York. This is the longest jail term ever awarded for insider trading.

Rajaratnam is expected to appeal against his conviction and he would be arguing that the wiretap recordings should not have been allowed as evidence in his criminal trial as they were illegally obtained. The wiretap recordings played a substantial in the government’s case. The 2^nd US Circuit Court of Appeals in New York has issued a to the point order rejecting Rajaratnam’s bail plea and is said to not have given any explanations for its decision. Rajaratnam is to begin serving his jail term from Monday.

Hedge fund titan Raj Rajaratnam bail plea rejected

Report by Priyanka S Menon