Letter Reveals More Names in Galleon Case
Roomy Khan, one of the key cooperating witnesses in the Galleon insider trading case, used her extensive rolodex of insiders to gain access to secret market-moving information. Recently released court documents show that list of contacts could be longer than we thought.
So for we know about several of Khan's associates connected to the case including Raj Rajaratnam, ex-SAC trader Choo-Beng Lee, Ali Far, Intel executive Rajiv Goel, Anil Kumar and Lenaxa Global Management trader Thomas Hardin (aka Tipper X.)
And last week, we learned that prosecutors are running “covert investigations” that involve two individuals occasionally mentioned in several interviews Khan had with federal agents. That info came to light in a motion by Rajaratnam's seeking access to unredacted transcripts of the interviews. Judge Richard Holwell quickly denied Raj's motion because of the ongoing investigation.
But a newly-released letter written by Khan's lawyer in February shows the SEC was looking for information on previously unidentified people in the case. The names surfaced in a list of search terms the SEC used in a sweep of Khan’s five computers during their investigation of the Galleon case. The search terms appear in a footnote from a February letter written by Khan's attorney to Judge Jed Rakoff. (See Page 2 of letter.)
In addition to those we already know are involved in the case, several other names appear in the list of search terms. According to a source close to the case, two of the names on the list are San Francisco financial advisors who did business Khan. They are: Jay Casey of Deutsche Bank and Jeffrey Turnbaugh of Bear Stearns (now JPMorgan.)
The source would not say whether the two men are suspects in the case and neither has been charged with any wrongdoing. Spokespeople for JPMorgan and Deutsche Bank declined to comment.
Khan already has a history with Deutsche Bank, but that seemed to end in 2005 when she and her husband were sued by the bank for failing to repay a large promissory note.
All of the other names that appeared on the list of search terms are in some way involved in the case, although not all have been charged. They include Sunil Bhalla, an executive at Polycom who allegedly provided Khan with inside information, and Shammara Hussain, an employee of investor relations firm Market Street Partners who tipped Khan off to Google’s earnings.
Also appearing in the search terms are “Karan Malik,” “Gilroy D’Souza,” “Rafiq Hussain” and “Rohit Malik.” It's unclear who these individuals are or their connections with Khan.
