Rajat Gupta threw away his duties: Prosecution

NEW YORK: Former Goldman Sachs director Rajat Gupta "threw away his duties" when he passed confidential company information to hedge fund founder Raj Rajaratnam, a prosecutor told a US court, even as defence argued that the Indian American was not an insider trader and "does not belong in this courtroom".

The trial of Gupta, one of the most high profile Wall Street executives to be charged with insider trading, began in US District Court, Southern District of New York yesterday amid intense media glare.

In his opening remarks to the 12 member jury, Assistant US Attorney Reed Brodsky said Gupta "threw away his duties and responsibilities and broke the law," by sharing insider tips with Rajaratnam, who is currently serving an 11 year prison sentence on insider trading charges.

The case of illegal insider trading "is about this man," Brodsky said facing the jury and pointing his hand toward Gupta "and how he violated his duties and abused his position as a corporate insider".

Gupta flanked by his defence team sat stoically, staring at Brodsky as he accused him of cheating shareholders and "periodically" passing secret information to Rajaratnam.

Gupta's family and a handful of his friends were present in court for day one of the trial, which is expected to last three weeks and could end before June 15.

Gupta's wife Anita sat right behind him in the first bench in the courtroom, surrounded by their four young daughters, who throughout the hearing exchanged glances and occasionally put their arms around their mother in support.

As one of the daughters turned emotional during the prosecution's opening remarks, her mother put her hand around her shoulder and sought to comfort her.