A rich man’s insider trading deserves prison

The American government wants Rajat K. Gupta to go to prison for up to a decade. He wants to go to Rwanda to do community service and call that sufficient punishment for his crimes.

A jury convicted Gupta in June of conspiracy and securities fraud for leaking Goldman Sachs boardroom secrets to billionaire hedge fund manager Raj Rajaratnam.

This was an insider trading case: Rajaratnam got the tips; Gupta provided them. Result: Because of Gupta’s tips, Rajaratnam’s hedge fund, the Galleon Group, illegally earned or avoided loss totaling $17 million, said the Securities and Exchange Commission.

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