Ex-Goldman Sachs banker stole merger details, prosecutor tells jury
12/06/2023 22:18
By Jody Godoy
June 12 - A former Goldman Sachs banker leaked details
of potential corporate mergers to a friend who traded on the
information, a prosecutor told a New York jury during opening
arguments of a trial on Monday.
Former Goldman Sachs Vice President Brijesh Goel faces
securities fraud, conspiracy and obstruction of justice charges
for allegedly tipping his friend Akshay Niranjan to deals the
bank was considering funding in 2017 and 2018.
Prosecutors say Goel gleaned the information on at least six
occasions about potential transactions - including Japanese
chemical manufacturer Kuraray's $1.1 billion acquisition of
Calgon Carbon Corp - from internal Goldman emails, and then
tipped Niranjan over games of squash.
Goel's attorney Adam Ford said his client was framed, and
that Niranjan fabricated a story to cover his own trading.
A Goldman Sachs spokesperson has called Goel's alleged
conduct "egregious" and said the bank is cooperating with
authorities.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew Thomas said that after being
contacted by investigators, Goel met with Niranjan in the
stairwell of an apartment building to delete their texts.
Niranjan, who is expected to testify as part of a
nonprosecution agreement, allegedly traded on the information
using his brother's account and agreed to split around $280,000
in profits with Goel.
Goel worked at private equity firm Apollo Global Management
at the time he was charged. A spokesperson for Apollo said Goel
was placed on indefinite leave.
The case was one of several U.S. Attorney Damien Williams
announced last summer as part of an insider trading crackdown.
In another case, former U.S. Congressman Stephen Buyer was
convicted in March of trading on inside information he learned
in 2018 as a consultant to T-Mobile US Inc ahead of its $23
billion merger with Sprint.
The case is U.S. v. Goel, No. 22-00396, U.S. District Court,
Southern District of New York.
(Reporting by Jody Godoy in New York; editing by Tom Hals in
Wilmington, Delaware and Ed Tobin)
((jody.godoy@thomsonreuters.com; (646) 540-2014))