In the mythical saga of Ramayana, the good king Rama waged an epic battle against a tyrant from Lanka named Ravana for abducting Rama’s wife – and won. History seemingly repeated itself as a mini-Ramayana played out this week – except of course, Rama was a steely Indian-born prosecutor, the location was a Manhattan courtroom, and the charges against the defendant – a.k.a Ravana – were pretty serious : he was accused of orchestrating “the largest hedge fund insider trading scheme in history.”
It is rather ironical that the principal players in one of the most explosive cases in the American financial sector are both South Asian men. Billionaire and erstwhile hedge fund manager Raj Rajaratnam was found guilty today of conspiracy and securities fraud crimes. While the news is sending shockwaves through Wall Street, a little mentioned fact is that the lead prosecutor in the case against him was Manhattan U.S. Attorney, Preet Bharara. And true to the Ramayana legend, Bharara has vanquished Rajaratnam in a hard-won battle that lasted over two years.
With all its talk of “Kumars”, “Rajats” and “Rajivs”, the case had already put an uncomfortable spotlight on the changing face of Wall Street, as it morphs from WASPs to FOBs (Fresh off the boat). That the prosecutor was also Indian-born is a testament to the increasingly active role played by the South Asian community in America today. What makes the case so interesting is the similarities between the two protagonists in this drama, not the least of which is that both of them emigrated from South Asian countries and are now naturalized Americans. They were the model immigrants, with Ivy League backgrounds and tremendously successful careers; Rajaratnam was a self-made billionaire and before he was arrested, part of Wall Street’s elite, while Bharara is a high-profile prosecutor with some meaty cases under his belt. Both men are married, with three children each.
With the guilty verdict, however, Rajaratnam’s path is about to veer in a whole new direction: he faces a maximum sentence of 205 years in prison. Meanwhile, Bharara is earning accolades for bringing in a successful verdict in a high-stakes case where a loss could have made future “insider trading cases against Wall Street traders almost impossible.” This was a big win for the U.S. government, which has so far had limited luck in prosecuting insider trading. It is said that after killing Ravana, Rama generously gave his enemy a grand funeral worthy a royal enemy. Bharara’s statement after the win was similarly generous, calling Rajaratnam one of the best and the brightest. “Yet, like so many others recently,” he added, “he let greed and corruption cause his undoing.”
Spoken like a true hero.
