Raj Rajaratnam, the Galleon Group founder accused of masterminding the largest insider trading scam in the US history, has asked a judge to exclude some wiretaps from his trial next month, arguing they have little to do with the case. Rajaratnam lawyers want to exclude phone taps where the "alleged tipper does not reveal his or her source of information" or where the information is too general to be considered proprietary, such as a company "doing well", the New York Post reported.
Rajaratnam's defence team is also asking the court to quash certain witness testimony, such as those involving tips where conspiracy has been alleged, the newspaper said.
The 52-year-old Sri Lankan born billionaire, who goes on trial, next month, maintains his innocence even as those accused along with him have pleaded guilty in the largest insider trading case in US history.
Former hedge fund trader Danielle Chiesi, pleaded guilty, last week, to passing inside information Rajaratnam. Five of the six people arrested in October 2009 have now pleaded guilty.
Rajaratnam faces multiple charges of conspiracy and security fraud and is accused of making illegal profits of almost $49 million.
This is the first case to use authorised wiretaps. Four other defendants arrested in October 2009 have pleaded guilty including Intel exec Rajiv Goel; and, Anil Kumar, a former director at McKinsey & Co.
