A US federal court in New York City has unsealed six count indictments charging a former Goldman Sachs board member with insider trading.
The charges against Rajat Gupta were unsealed in federal court in Manhattan after he surrendered this morning.
The charges accuse him of engaging in an insider trading scheme with Raj Rajaratnam, a former billionaire hedge fund manager who was the prime target of the probe The 62-year-old Gupta is awaiting an appearance at the federal court.
He is charged with one count of conspiracy to commit securities fraud and five counts of securities fraud. The charges carry a potential penalty of 105 years in prison.
Gupta was also longtime head of the prestigious McKinsey international consultancy. Charges against Gupta mark a stunning reversal for one of America's elite executives.
"The facts demonstrate that Mr Gupta is an innocent man and that he has always acted with honesty and integrity," said his lawyer Gary Naftalis, calling the criminal allegations "totally baseless" and vowing to fight the charges.
"He did not trade in any securities, did not tip Mr Rajaratnam so he could trade, and did not share in any profits as part of any quid pro quo."
Gupta has previously been investigated, however, over whether he broke the law by tipping off Rajaratnam, the founder of the Galleon Group hedge fund who was sentenced this month to 11 years in prison.
Prosecutors said Gupta tipped Rajaratnam about Warren Buffett's surprise $5 billion investment in Goldman Sachs during the financial crisis, allowing Rajaratnam to profit trade before the market knew about the transaction.
He also allegedly told Rajaratnam in advance that Goldman was about to post its first ever quarterly earnings loss, another major event on the market.
Goldman's chief executive, Lloyd Blankfein, was among the witnesses providing testimony at Rajaratnam's trial.
