Insider trading: Goldman’s Gupta may conduct own defence
09 Jun 2012
Former Goldman Sachs Group Inc board member Rajat Gupta is likely to defend himself personally in the insider trading case where his accused of leaking corporate secrets Raj Rajaratnam, founder and manager of hedge fund Galleon Group.
That Gupta may testify at his own trial was revealed on Friday in exchanges between the judge and Gary Naftalis, Gupta's main defence lawyer in the US District Court in New York.
Naftalis told Judge Jed Rakoff that it was highly likely his client would come out and share his version of events.
Naftalis, however, also said that Gupta might be reluctant and change his mind about testifying. The judge told the defence that the prosecution must be informed about his decision beforehand.
Gupta is charged with divulging sensitive financial information to Rajaratnam, between March 2007 and January 2009, while serving on the boards of Goldman and Procter & Gamble Co.
The trial began on 21 May and closing arguments are expected on Wednesday. Judge Rakoff has already expressed his irritation at the slow pace of the trial.
Gupta's decision, while relatively rare, is not unprecedented in high profile white collar crime trials. Chief executives such as WorldCom's Bernie Ebbers, Tyco's Dennis Kozlowski and Enron's Jeffrey Skilling, each took the stand at their trials. They were all convicted.