I hope Rajat is a big boy: Rajaratnam
14 Jun 2012 9:54 AM GMT
The jury in the high-profile insider trading trial of Rajat Gupta heard a 2008 wire-tap in which now-jailed hedge fund founder Raj Rajaratnam apparently admitted he deceived Gupta over a $10 million investment and expected him to react like a ‘big boy’ to the loss.
The wiretap was the last evidence former Goldman Sachs director Gupta's defense team presented in US district court on Tuesday before it rested its case.
Closing arguments by both sides will be made later today after which the case will go to the jury.
In the brief phone conversation on 2 October 2008, Galleon Group portfolio manager Sanjay Santhanam asks Rajaratnam about the Voyager Capital Partners fund, in which Gupta had invested about $10 million.
Gupta alleges he lost all his investment in Voyager and that Rajaratnam took his money behind his back, which led to a falling out between the two.
For the fund, Rajaratnam had borrowed $300 million from Lehman Brothers, which filed for bankruptcy in September 2008.
‘Under the circumstances, how are you holding up?’ Santhanam asks Rajaratnam in the phone conversation.
‘Look it's part of the game. I mean, when you take leverage you, you know. My problem is I, I'm a big boy. I hope Rajat is a big boy. You know,’ Rajaratnam tells Santhanam, who was working on the portfolio at Galleon.
Rajaratnam goes on to say, ‘And then I didn't, I, I, I didn't tell him that I took that equity out. Right. What I want to do is show him... and I might say things like this instead of 20 million, 30 million in Lehman that we put a claim against and we have to wait for it.’
64-year-old Gupta has pleaded not guilty to one count of conspiracy and five counts of securities fraud. He faces up to 25 years in prison if convicted.
Earlier testifying on behalf of her father, Gupta's eldest daughter Geetanjali told the court he was ‘stressed, frustrated and angry’ that Rajaratnam had taken his money out of the Voyager fund without telling him and that he was considering suing the Galleon co-founder.
The wiretap was the last evidence former Goldman Sachs director Gupta's defense team presented in US district court on Tuesday before it rested its case.
Closing arguments by both sides will be made later today after which the case will go to the jury.
In the brief phone conversation on 2 October 2008, Galleon Group portfolio manager Sanjay Santhanam asks Rajaratnam about the Voyager Capital Partners fund, in which Gupta had invested about $10 million.
Gupta alleges he lost all his investment in Voyager and that Rajaratnam took his money behind his back, which led to a falling out between the two.
For the fund, Rajaratnam had borrowed $300 million from Lehman Brothers, which filed for bankruptcy in September 2008.
‘Under the circumstances, how are you holding up?’ Santhanam asks Rajaratnam in the phone conversation.
‘Look it's part of the game. I mean, when you take leverage you, you know. My problem is I, I'm a big boy. I hope Rajat is a big boy. You know,’ Rajaratnam tells Santhanam, who was working on the portfolio at Galleon.
Rajaratnam goes on to say, ‘And then I didn't, I, I, I didn't tell him that I took that equity out. Right. What I want to do is show him... and I might say things like this instead of 20 million, 30 million in Lehman that we put a claim against and we have to wait for it.’
64-year-old Gupta has pleaded not guilty to one count of conspiracy and five counts of securities fraud. He faces up to 25 years in prison if convicted.
Earlier testifying on behalf of her father, Gupta's eldest daughter Geetanjali told the court he was ‘stressed, frustrated and angry’ that Rajaratnam had taken his money out of the Voyager fund without telling him and that he was considering suing the Galleon co-founder.
Next Story
