Former Goldman Sachs director Rajat Gupta who was convicted for insider trading charges was sent to two years imprisonment and ordered to pay a fine of USD 5 million by a federal judge here. Gupta was ordered yesterday to serve a year supervised release, he has been ordered to surrender to prison on January 8, 2013, following the completion of his jail term. Making his first statement in court, Gupta said, “The last 18 months have been the most challenging period of my life since I lost my parents.” “I have lost my reputation and the verdict was devastating for my family and friends. I have come to accept the reality of my life and regret terribly the impact of this matter on my family,” he said. Gupta further said, ” it was unbearable to see his family suffer.” US District Judge Jed Rakoff in sentencing Gupta said while the former McKinsey head has life of charitable work to his credit, by disclosing confidential information about Goldman Sachs to Hedge Fund founder Raj Rajaratnam, Gupta stabbed Goldman Sachs in the back. Gupta was found guilty by a federal court in Manhattan on four counts, out of six on June 15 after a three-week trial for passing boardroom secrets to the now imprisoned billionaire Raj Rajaratnam at the height of the global financial crisis. The Prosecution had sought a prison term of 8-10 years for Gupta who was convicted in a closely followed trial on three counts of securities fraud and one count of conspiracy. The sentencing of India Inc’s Wall Street poster boy by US District Judge Jed Rakoff comes exactly a year after Manhattan’s top federal attorney India-born Preet Bharara filed insider trading charges against the former McKinsey head. PTI
