Rajiv Goel Testifies

Raj Rajaratnam

The person behind the wiretapped voice testified on Tuesday that he passed tips to his friend Raj Rajaratnam. Former Intel executive Rajiv Goel took the stand and admitted he “violated my obligations" to Intel.

It seems that Goel really liked Rajaratnam and liked to vacation with him. 

"Mr. Rajaratnam is—was—a very good friend of mine," Goel said. "He was a good man to me. I was a good pal, a good person to him. He's a trader. He trades on information."

According to his testimony, Goel passed Rajaratnam tips regarding 2007 Intel earnings and its deal with Clearwire Corp, information Goel obtained from Alexander Lenke, also of Intel. Prosecutor Reed Brodsky pointed out for the jury the quid pro quo in Goel’s actions:

"Mr. Rajaratnam helped me financially a few times," Goel said. He was "a generous person."

This financial help included a $100,000 payment disguised as a loan, and $500,000 supposedly for health care for Goel’s father. Goel invested with Rajaratnam and earned at least $700,000 from these trades. 

"Why did it stop?" Brodsky asked. "Because he and I were arrested," Goel said.

Goel also fingered two women tipsters who benefited from Rajaratnam’s largesse:

"He gave them two cars, one to each individual. He gave them the keys to the car. If I recall correctly, they were BMWs."

It is expected that Goel will testify throughout the remainder of the week.

Eric Bank, Freelance Writer

© 2011 Hedge Fund Writer LLC