| Submit your comments on this article |
| Home Front: WoT |
| Rajaratnam Surfaced in U.S. Terrorism Probe |
| 2009-10-19 |
| The hedge-fund billionaire charged as part of a vast insider-trading case surfaced in an earlier, separate probe into U.S. fundraising by a Sri Lankan terrorist group, people familiar with the probe said. As part of that investigation, federal agents said they uncovered documents showing that Raj Rajaratnam, founder of the Galleon Group, was among several wealthy Sri Lankans in the U.S. whose donations to a Maryland-based charity made their way to the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, according to people familiar with the probe. The LTTE, commonly known as the Tamil Tigers, fought a brutal separatist war carrying out suicide bombings and political assassinations against the government of Sri Lanka from 1976 until it was defeated in May. Mr. Rajaratnam, 52 years old, was among six people arrested Friday in what the Federal Bureau of Investigation said is the largest-ever hedge-fund insider-trading case. Federal prosecutors charged Mr. Rajaratnam with securities fraud and conspiracy to commit securities fraud. Citing telephone wiretaps, a federal criminal complaint filed in U.S. District Court for New York's Southern District describes a period from 2006 and 2008 when Mr. Rajaratnam and his group allegedly swapped inside information. Prosecutors allege Mr. Rajaratnam and his ring of alleged co-conspirators earned $20 million in improper gains. Mr. Rajaratnam's New York-based Galleon fund firm manages $3.7 billion. There doesn't appear to be a connection between the two investigations. |
| Posted by:Fred |