The managing director of Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) involved in an insider trading investigation for providing confidential information about technology companies to hedge funds resigned from his position in the bank, according to a report from Reuters.
According to Reuters, a spokesperson for Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) confirmed the resignation of David Loeb, the managing director based in New York. He was not charged with any wrongdoing but his name came out along with other Goldman Sachs bankers who are under in connection with the insider trading investigation of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
Last year, Rajat Gupta, a former board member of the bank was found guilty of passing confidential information regarding the financial situation of Goldman Sachs to hedge fund manager Raj Rajanaratnam.
During a trial last year, the defense lawyers argued that it was Loeb who gave confidential information to the hedge fund manager and not Gupta. Prosecutors in the case told the presiding judge that Loeb provided Rajaratnam with information about Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC), Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) and Hewlett-Packard Company (NYSE:HPQ), but none of the information are related to the trades under scrutiny in the Gupta case.
According to a source knowledgeable of the investigation, it is unlikely that Loeb will face criminal charges under present situation, citing that there were no developments in the case.
On the other hand, a report from Bloomberg cited that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) won a decision of a federal judge granting the agency’s request to freeze the account of Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) in connection with the trading anomalies prior to the announcement of H.J. Heinz Company (NYSE:HNZ)’s agreement to sell the company.
The judge made its decision after the unidentified traders failed to show up in court and defend their claims in the account. U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff said, “So, there appears to be no opposition to the proposed order that would freeze on a more permanent basis pending further proceedings of the amount in question and also prohibits the destruction of records. I find that the relief was very well warranted and so I have signed the propose order.”
“They can hide, but their assets can’t run,” added Rakoff.
According to Goldman Sachs, it does not have direct access to the information regarding the identities of the beneficial owners behind the transactions made using the frozen account. The bank told SEC that the account holder of the account is private-wealth client based in Zurich.
In a court filing, the SEC said Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) is cooperating with regulators. The agency alleged that traders had confidential information regarding the proposed deal between Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE:BRK.A) (NYSE:BRK.B) and H.J. Heinz Company (NYSE:HNZ)’s when they initiated the call option to acquire 2,533 shares of HNZ. The stock price of HNZ rose by 20 percent to $72.50 after the companies announced their agreement on February 14th.
