Rajat Gupta a former Director at Goldman Sachs and the former worldwide head of Mckinsey & Co. was convicted today for securities fraud and insider trading. The New York judge gave him two years in Federal prison and a $5 million fine. I say he got off easy. I don't know if the information he leaked directly affected the fortunes of many people, but I know that when someone of his stature violates a fiduciary duty they are guilty of a far worse crime than an ordinary citizen. After all he got the positions he did because he was considered better than others, more capable than others and finally more trustworthy than others.
I am not directly aware of the good that he has done in terms of philanthropic acts or working with various foundations to raise funds and implement poverty alleviation schemes, but how can that qualify you to be let off the hook for a crime you have committed otherwise. This is not like the carbon credits that we may accumulate in the future and apply them against excess energy consumption and wastage elsewhere It sounds a little exaggerated when the Bill Gates and the Kofi Annans of the world say that in him the world is going to lose one of the leading advocates for the poor. If indeed he is that powerful and influential then he needed to be even more vigilant of not abusing his position of power. And what is to say that if his violations of securities laws had gone unchecked he would not have misused his other positions in the future? Yes there is a need to give due recognition to the work he has done and maybe give him the opportunity to continue that in some form once he is out and even if possible while in Federal prison but that can not be an excuse for breaking the law and getting away with it.
The deep financial crisis and disaster the world faced in 2008 was largely a result of the acts perpetrated by people just like him. They used thier positions of power and decision making, and access to information to manipulate the system for their personal gain regardless of the impact it had on the larger population. Therefore it is very critical that such crimes should be treated seriously. So whether it is Joe Smith or Rajat Gupta, due punishment should be given for the crime the person committed.
I am not directly aware of the good that he has done in terms of philanthropic acts or working with various foundations to raise funds and implement poverty alleviation schemes, but how can that qualify you to be let off the hook for a crime you have committed otherwise. This is not like the carbon credits that we may accumulate in the future and apply them against excess energy consumption and wastage elsewhere It sounds a little exaggerated when the Bill Gates and the Kofi Annans of the world say that in him the world is going to lose one of the leading advocates for the poor. If indeed he is that powerful and influential then he needed to be even more vigilant of not abusing his position of power. And what is to say that if his violations of securities laws had gone unchecked he would not have misused his other positions in the future? Yes there is a need to give due recognition to the work he has done and maybe give him the opportunity to continue that in some form once he is out and even if possible while in Federal prison but that can not be an excuse for breaking the law and getting away with it.
The deep financial crisis and disaster the world faced in 2008 was largely a result of the acts perpetrated by people just like him. They used thier positions of power and decision making, and access to information to manipulate the system for their personal gain regardless of the impact it had on the larger population. Therefore it is very critical that such crimes should be treated seriously. So whether it is Joe Smith or Rajat Gupta, due punishment should be given for the crime the person committed.
No comments:
Post a Comment