Rogue US insider trader fined record $92.8m

US prosecutors said Rajaratnam made more than $72m, using illegal tips to trade in shares [EPA]

A US federal judge has ordered the jailed rogue trader, Raj Rajaratnam, to pay a record fine of $92.8m in a related US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) civil case.

This comes on top of the $63.8m lawyers say he has already paid out in the criminal case.

Rajaratnam, who made well over $72m in profits from his illegal trades, was sentenced in October for 11 years for one of the biggest insider trading cases in the country’s history.

Rajaratnam was convicted of 14 counts of securities fraud and conspiracy in the criminal case, after a two-month trial in May.

The SEC said Rajaratnam’s civil penalty is the largest against an individual in an insider trading case brought by the regulator.

‘Money-losing proposition’

US District Judge Jed Rakoff, who handed down the fine, said a severe civil penalty for Rajaratnam was needed to make clear that insider trading should be “a money-losing proposition” for all who consider it.

He said such a penalty was appropriate because the net worth of Rajaratnam, a former billionaire, “considerably
exceeds” the penalties in the criminal case.

In a statement, Robert Khuzami, the SEC enfocement chief, said the penalty “reflects the historic proportions of Raj Rajaratnam’s illegal conduct and its impact on the integrity of our markets”.