Rajat Gupta gets 2-year sentence for insider trading

Rajat Gupta, the former Goldman Sachs and Procter & Gamble Co board member accused of insider trading, was sentenced on Wednesday to two years in prison and a $5 million fine by US District Court Judge Jed Rakoff in New York.

Although the judge called his crimes ''disgusting" and "a terrible breach of trust," the sentence was much lighter than prosecutors had demanded, probably due to Gupta's undoubted philanthropic activities. The charges could have attracted a maximum sentence of 20 years.

The Indian-born Gupta, 63, of Westport, Connecticut, once highly respected on Wall Street and in business circles, was convicted of passing on Goldman board secrets to his friend Raja Rajaratanam, the Sri Lanka-born promoter of hedge fund Galleon.

The Harvard-educated businessman is one of the biggest catches yet for the federal government in its five-year crackdown on insider trading that has so far resulted in 69 convictions, including that of Rajaratanam, who is serving an 11-year sentence.

Gupta, reading from a statement, said, "The last 18 months have been the most challenging period of my life since I lost my parents as a teenager.

"I regret terribly the impact of this matter on my family, my friends and the institutions that are dear to me. I've lost my reputation I built for a lifetime. The verdict was devastating.''