Gupta found guilty of insider trading

Rajat Gupta, a former Goldman Sachs board member, was found guilty Friday in New York on insider trading charges in another big victory for prosecutors probing Wall Street corruption. The guilty verdict on four of six counts came after less than two days of deliberations following a three week trial in Manhattan federal court. The 63-year-old faced up to 25 years in prison if found guilty on all charges. Prosecutors say Gupta, who also headed McKinsey & Co, fed private market-moving information to his former friend and hedge fund manager Raj Rajaratnam, sentenced last year to 11 years in prison for insider trading. "Rajat Gupta once stood at the apex of the international business community. Today, he stands convicted of securities fraud. He achieved remarkable success and stature, but he threw it all away," chief Manhattan prosecutor Preet Bharara said in a statement. "Having fallen from respected insider to convicted inside trader, Mr Gupta has now exchanged the lofty board room for the prospect of a lowly jail cell." sms/sg