Galleon guy Gupta can sue SEC

According to the NY Post former Goldman Sachs director Rajat Gupta -- the biggest name to get caught up in Raj Rajaratnam's insider-trading scandal -- can pursue his lawsuit against the Securities and Exchange Commission that accuses it of trampling on his right to a trial by jury.

Manhattan federal judge Jed Rakoff ruled yesterday that Gupta can move forward with his suit against the SEC, which filed a motion to dismiss Gupta's suit.
In March, the SEC filed a civil administrative action against Gupta -- a week before the criminal trial against Rajaratnam kicked off -- accusing him of feeding illegal tips to Rajaratnam when he was a director of Goldman Sachs and Procter & Gamble. Among the worst allegations, the SEC said Gupta told the Galleon Group founder about Warren Buffett's $5 billion infusion into Goldman less than a minute after its board approved the deal in 2008 during the height of the financial crisis.

Gupta has denied the allegations. By bringing an administrative action rather than a traditional court action, the SEC is seeking to do battle with Gupta through an in-house court rather than the district courts, where a jury would decide his fate. Gupta said the SEC's move unfairly tarnished his reputation and deprived him of his right to a trial by jury…

Read more: http://www.nypost.com/p/news/business/galleon_guy_gupta_can_sue_sec_LLsOFSEk4A8BOAOB0Qiu1O#ixzz1Rs2a1Wdj