Judges No More Interested In Restoring Rajat Gupta’s Good Name Than They Were His Freedom

Here’s the good news for former McKinsey & Co. chief—and former Raj Rajaratnam buddy—Rajat Gupta: He’s not only been out of jail for almost 10 months, he hasn’t even been under house arrest for eight. So he’s not asking the U.S. Second Circuit Court of Appeals to spring him anymore, which is good, since neither it nor the Supreme Court seemed particular interested in doing so. The bad news is, he’s still a convicted felon, even though calling your friend, business partner and money manager with a hot tip about the company whose board you sit on is maybe not even insider-trading anymore.

Problem is, the very same court—those lovable scamps on the Second Circuit—that threw the whole matter of insider trading into question in the first place is still pretty sure that what Gupta did qualifies under just about any definition.

Wesley went right after Naftalis at the start Wednesday, asking why the court shouldn't refrain from acting until the Supreme Court decides the just-heard case of Salman v. United States, 15-628, a Ninth Circuit case where the definition of personal benefit is at issue.

Wesley then asked whether the benefit existed anyway, as Gupta had invested with Rajaratnam in the past.

"Doesn't that seem like Gupta [would] have some understanding that if he did something good for Mr. Rajaratnam, he would benefit?" Wesley asked.

Gupta’s Appeal in Insider Trading Case Met With Skepticism [New York Law Journal]