Preet Bharara
Preet Bharara
Preetinder Singh "Preet" Bhararais an Indian-born naturalized American attorney and the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York. Earning a reputation of a "Crusader" prosecutor, his office has prosecuted diplomats and people in other countries. He prosecuted nearly 100 Wall Street executives, reached historic settlements and fines with the four largest banks in the US, and closed multibillion-dollar hedge funds. He also prosecuted New York state politicians, including the Speaker of the New York State Assembly, Sheldon Silver...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionPublic Servant
CountryUnited States of America
Unfortunately, from what I can see from my vantage point as the U.S. Attorney here, illegal insider trading is rampant and may even be on the rise.
The alarm bells sound regularly: cybergeddon; the next Pearl Harbor; one of the greatest existential threats facing the United States. With increasing frequency, these are the grave terms officials invoke about the menace of cybercrime - and they're not understating the threat.
As the United States attorney in Manhattan, I have come to worry about few things as much as the gathering cyber threat.
I don't eat green things, no vegetables.
I don't like coffee but I need caffeine.
I eat almost no lunch. I have a big dinner but I don't have a big lunch.
I'm a big fan of meat.
Securities fraud generally and insider trading in particular should be eminently deterrable crimes.
From coast to coast, the FBI and Securities and Exchange Commission have ensnared people not only at hedge funds, but at technology and pharmaceutical companies, consulting and law firms, government agencies, and even a major stock exchange.
History has shown that one cannot legislate a culture of integrity. And yet, one of the paramount responsibilities and challenges of corporate leadership is to ensure such a culture.
Insider trading tells everybody at precisely the wrong time that everything is rigged, and only people who have a billion dollars and have access to and are best friends with people who are on boards of directors of major companies - they're the only ones who can make a true buck.
Significant officials at publicly traded companies are casually and cavalierly engaged in insider trading. Because insider trading has as one of its elements communication, it doesn't take rocket science to realize it's nice to have the communication on tape.
The aggressive use of wiretaps is important: It shows that we are targeting white-collar insider-trading rings with the same powerful investigative tools that have worked so successfully against the mob and drug cartels.
We have witnessed the most educated, successful, and monied professionals in the country put their companies - not to mention their own liberty - at risk by engaging in flagrant and foolhardy illegal conduct.