Business

Former exec pays $2.8M to settle Galleon insider trading case

A cooperating witness in the Galleon criminal insider trading probe agreed to pay $2.8 million to settle a civil lawsuit by the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission, according to court papers filed Monday.

According to the consent judgment filed Monday, Anil Kumar, a former senior partner at consulting firm McKinsey & Co., will pay back $2.6 million in illegal profits plus prejudgment interest of $190,621. He also agreed to cooperate with the SEC’s probe.

U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff in Manhattan, who approved the judgment, will determine at a later date whether to assess a civil penalty in the matter, according to the court filing.

A lawyer for Kumar declined to comment Monday.

Kumar pleaded guilty to criminal conspiracy and securities fraud charges in January and has agreed to cooperate in a separate criminal case against Galleon Group founder Raj Rajaratnam.

Prosecutors allege Rajaratnam was at the center of a massive insider-trading ring that generated millions of dollars in improper trades. Rajaratnam, who also is a defendant in the SEC case, has denied wrongdoing.

In total, 21 people have been charged criminally in the insider-trading probe, and 11 have pleaded guilty to criminal charges.