Rajaratnam may liquidate Galleon's hedge funds

Raj Rajaratnam, the beleaguered founder of the $3.7 billion Galleon Group, today told investors that he would liquidate his hedge funds even as he was exploring various alternatives for the business.

In a letter to investors, Rajaratnam said he was seeking ways to keep together long-short equity investment team.

"I have decided that it is now in the best interest of our investors and employees to conduct an orderly wind-down of Galleon's funds while we explore various alternatives for our business," he wrote.

"At this important time, I want to reassure investors of the liquidity of our funds and assure Galleon employees that we are seeking the best way to keep together what I believe is the best long / short equity team in the business," he added.

The Sri Lanka-born billionaire Rajaratnam, 52, who is under probe by US federal authorities on charges of insider trading, reiterated that he is innocent of all charges and that he will defend himself.

"As many of you know, we have built our business on the fundamental belief in rigorous investment analysis combined with active trading around core positions. We have encouraged and invited our investors to attend our daily research morning meetings. Many of you have done so and got a first hand look at our process. This research process is the core of our investment and trading strategy," he said.