Indian citizen held in US, charged with insider trading
Acting Manhattan
US Attorney Joon Kim said
Avaneesh Krishnamoorthy made approximately USD 48,000 in illicit profits
through the insider trading scheme.
A 41-year-old Indian citizen has been arrested on charges of
insider trading and making thousands of dollars using confidential
information of a private equity firm's acquisition of a technology company.
Avaneesh Krishnamoorthy, who lives in New Jersey, served
as a vice president and risk management specialist for a Manhattan-based
investment bank from 2015 till this month.
He is charged with one
count of securities fraud, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years
in prison and a maximum fine of USD 5 million.
Acting Manhattan
US Attorney Joon Kim said Krishnamoorthy made approximately USD 48,000
in illicit profits through the insider trading scheme.
The
Securities and Exchange Commission filed a parallel civil complaint
alleging that the accused learned that Golden Gate Capital planned to
acquire publicly traded advertising technology company Neustar Inc.
"He
allegedly exploited his access to information about a pending
acquisition to purchase stock and options, making tens of thousands of
dollars in illegal profit for himself," the attorney said.
The
insider trading case is among the first brought by Kim, who succeeded
Preet Bharara, Manhattan's top federal prosecutor after he was fired by
the Trump administration.
Bharara had successfully prosecuted
several high profile insider trading cases, including those against
India-born Rajat Gupta and his one time friend and business associate
Raj Rajaratnam.
According to the complaint filed in Manhattan
federal court, as vice president and risk management specialist, Krishnamoorthy had access to material non-public information concerning
mergers and acquisitions for which the investment bank he worked in
might potentially provide financing.
In November 2016, Golden Gate
Capital contacted the investment bank concerning financing for the
acquisition of Neustar.
Around that time, he received multiple emails
regarding the investment bank's potential involvement in the
transaction, including emails that summarised the details of the deal.
In
violation of the company's policies and in breach of his duties,
Krishnamoorthy used this material non-public information to acquire
Neustar stock and options.
In the days and weeks after receiving the emails, and prior to the public announcement of Neustar's
acquisition, Krishnamoorthy purchased numerous Neustar call options and
shares of its stock in brokerage accounts held in the names of both Krishnamoorthy and his wife.
The public announcement of Neustar's
acquisition in December last year resulted in an approximately 20
percent increase in the value of Neustar stock, resulting in a
corresponding increase in the value of the call options and equity stock
held by Krishnamoorthy and his spouse
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