Rajaratnam's asset portfolio in Sri Lanka at $105 mn

COLOMBO: Tamil-origin billionaire Raj Rajaratnam, charged in one of the largest ever insider trading scam in the US, is estimated to have an asset portfolio worth $105 million in Sri Lanka.

The Central Bank Governor Ajith N Cabraal has said Rajaratnam's total asset portfolio in Sri Lanka was valued at approximately SLRs 12 billion (about $105 million).

"Currently we are engaged in our own investigations on the investment portfolio of Rajaratnam and we are also inquiring into his involvement with the Tamil Rehabilitation Organization (TRO)," Cabraal told a newspaper.

The Central Bank in the meantime said it was estimated that of the total monies received by the TRO, a suspected LTTE front, one third of the funding was provided by Rajaratnam.

The bank said Rajaratnam's local investment portfolio would remain unchanged and it would not seize his assets in Sri Lanka until he is proven guilty of financing terrorism, the newspaper said.

Last week, Rajaratnam, founder of hedge fund Galleon Group, and five others were charged in a $20 million insider trading scam.