Raj Rajaratnam pleads not guilty to insider trading

Sri Lankan Tamil-origin billionaire Raj Rajaratnam has pleaded not guilty before a court here to running an insider trading scam that allegedly racked upto US$ 21 million in profits, the biggest such case in the US.
 
Rajaratnam, founder of the Galleon Group and hedge fund operator, is accused of operating an elaborate insider trading operation in tech and other stocks through his hedge fund. The scam is said to be the biggest hedge-fund insider trading case in the US.
 
Four Indian-Americans have also been charged in the case.
 
"Rajaratnam is innocent, and looks forward to his day in court when a jury of his fellow citizens will examine and evaluate all of the evidence," his lawyer John Dowd was quoted as saying.
 
Rajaratnam is also accused of providing financial support to a charity linked to the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam.
 
On bail, Rajaratnam also urged the court to reduce his US$ 100 million security to US$ 25 million. He faces 20 years of imprisonment if found convicted.
 
A federal grand jury had last week formally indicted Rajaratnam and his colleague Danielle Chiesi of numerous counts of securities fraud and conspiracy.