Analysis
A Case of Monumental Fall
On this Vijaydashmi Day, i.e. 24 October 2012, Rajat Gupta the first India born CEO of Global Western Company Mckinsey & Co. would hear the judgement for a case registered against him in June 2012 for Insider trading. It is strange that the case against him was brought forth by another Indian Preet S Bharara Attorney New York. And when Preet Bharara goes to Harvard Business School to speak to the first year class, one of the 90 odd students is Aditi Gupta daughter of Rajat Gupta.
Rajat Gupta has been one of the most respected Corporate leaders of the USA, till the case was nailed against him. Any bright MBA would like to reach the dizzy height achieved by Rajat Gupta, a son of a former freedom fighter.
Rajat Gupta was one of the brightest student of the yesteryears who stood 15th in the IIT JEE in the 70s. He declined the offer from ITC, the company known for being good paymaster, to go to Harvard Business School to do his MBA. He became the CEO of Mckinsey and Co. in 1993 and continued in this prestigious seat till 2004. During his career till 2012, he served as Corporate chairman,board director or stratagic advisor to number of companies including Goldman Sachs, Proctor and Gamble, American Airlines, NGOs like the Gates Foundation, Global Fund and International Chamber of Commerce.
He has been accused (convicted) of leaking tips about Goldman Sachs to Raj Rajaratnam, the now convicted Head (serving 11 years prison term in USA) of Galleon Group, once a well respected hedge fund. Interestingly another Indian and a protege of Rajat Gupta at Mckinsey's Anil Kumar cooperated with the Government of USA against Gupta and for which he got probation. Rajat whose net worth was more than 120 million USD a few years ago was convicted of insider trading and found guilty on four counts viz of conspiracy and securities fraud.
It is eagerly watched in legal circles of USA as to what judgement Judge Jed Rakoff gives on the Hindu Dussehra Day. The prosecution has been asking for 8 to 10 years of jail term for Mr. Gupta, as per the guidelines of the Federal government but Judge Rakoff has been considered to be one of the stern critic of the guidelines. And Mr. Gupta's lawyer Gary P Naftalis has made an unusual request in recommending that Rajat who has played a leadership role in a variety of global humanitarian causes, should be sent to Rwanda. The Rwandan Government has expressed support for a programme of service in which Rajat Gupta would work with rural agencies to ensure that the needs to end HIV, Malaria, extreme poverty and food security are implemented. This reminds of an Indian movie "Dushman" in which the truck driver (Rajesh Khanna) is asked by the Judge to support the affected family of the deceased by living with them till the family achieves self sufficiency.
The good work done by Rajat Gupta in the corporate as well as charity field has been appreciated by various captains of the industry in USA and about 200 of such prominent personalities including Bill Gates, the Microsoft billionaire, Kofi Annan the former UN Secretary General and Deepak Chopra, have written letters to the Judge requesting for leniency in the Judgement. The family of Mr. Gupta has also pleaded that a lengthy prison would be too much for a person who has already paid the terrible price.
It is surprising that why a man who invested USD 250,00,000 in his daughter's failed internet set up and never took care to recoup it, took a monumental fall in doing something which has put his reputation in shambles.
Vinash Kale Vipareet Buddhi.
20-Oct-2012
More by :
Suresh Mandan
Top | Analysis
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Breaking news: Rajat Gupta was sentenced to 2 Years in prison and one year of supervised release and 5 million USD fine.This is still a light punishment.His image has been tarnished as well as the image of all others around him. |
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Thank you Mr. Bohre....for pointing out the error. It is fixed. |
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Yes, I could not understand the same - how a man of such a background would indulge in non-relevant illegal activities.
Vinash Kale Vipareet Buddhi ! |
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