NEW YORK – Indo-American corporate fraudster Rajat Gupta, who went on trial in a high-profile insider trading scandal, is getting a lot of support from Indian businessman including business tycoons like Mukesh Ambani and Adi Godrej.
This high profile Wall Street personality and former Goldman Sachs Director is getting all the support of his friends through a website named ‘www.friendsofrajat.com’. According to www.friendsofrajat.com, Rajat, who is on trial in Manhattan federal court for securities fraud, is a man of “great integrity”, a philanthropist and a victim of prosecutorial overreach. Author Deepak Chopra and Mukesh Ambani are among those who have taken to the website to praise him.
The Chairman of Reliance Industries is said to have known Rajat for over 20 years. In a letter posted on the website, Ambani stated, “In every conversation I have had with him over the years, he was always talking about the things he wanted to do for India, for others, and never about himself.” He also mentioned, “I have never seen him ask for anything for himself, always for a greater good… I respect Rajat for his selfless dedication and humility and he will always be a friend of mine.” According to Ambani, Rajat always used the Bhagvad Gita shloka which meant, “You are only entitled to do your duty, not to the fruits of that duty”.
Other eminent personalities who are said to have signed up for this website also include billionaire Adi Godrej, Chairman of the Mumbai-based Godrej Consumer Products; billionaire Kushal Pal Singh, Chairman of DLF; Yogesh Chander Deveshwar, owner of ITC; Analjit Singh of Max India; and Rajendra Singh Pawar, Chairman of NIIT.
Godrej Group Chairman stated in one of the letters that Rajat has always been a person of great integrity and clarity of purpose. “My admiration for Rajat remains as strong as ever,” he added.
Rajat’s friends and supporters have ridiculed at the prosecutors’ allegation that Gupta tipped Rajaratnam to enhance the holdings of a fund the two had invested in. Analjit Singh, Max India chairman and founder, said, “Rajat is too smart – he’s not stupid to do something foolish, as what has been alleged,” as quoted by Bloomberg.
Atul Kanagat, a former McKinsey & Company Principal, who manages the website said, “He’s like a dolphin caught up in a tuna net. The government refuses to admit it’s a dolphin and not a big fat tuna, and they’re not going to give up. That’s what my website is trying to do, tell the story about the other Rajat.”
Rajat has been accused of leaking information about Goldman Sachs and Procter & Gamble, while has was the Director of the company. He is said to have shared confidential information with hedge fund manager Raj Rajaratnam of Galleon Group. He is charged with one count of conspiracy and five counts of securities fraud, which carries a maximum term of 20 years in prison. In addition, with respect to the conspiracy charge, Gupta faces a maximum fine of $250,000 or twice the gross gain or loss accrued from the crime. For each of the securities fraud charges, Gupta faces a maximum fine of $5 million or twice the gross gain or loss derived from the crime.
Gupta’s friends and associates are fighting back online and in interviews. According to younger men like Sabeer Bhatia, 43, Co-Founder of the e-mail service Hotmail and Chairman of Sabse Technologies, Gupta is a mentor. “Everybody looked up to him,” Bhatia said in an interview. Gupta advised Bhatia when he wanted to start a school in India and on a later business venture, the Hotmail Co-Founder said. Never once did Gupta seek personal gain, said Bhatia.
