US judge rules for gov't on Rajaratnam evidence

A US federal judge ordered that Galleon hedge fund founder Raj Rajaratnam must reveal taped evidence to be used in his upcoming insider trading trial set for March 8, a court document said.

US District Judge Richard Holwell, who will preside over the case, ordered taped evidence be released immediately but export testimony be provided by March 22.

"Rajaratnam shall immediately identify any wiretap or consensually recorded telephone calls that he presently intends to introduce into evidence at trial and provide the government with the expert disclosures," a court document stated.

"However, with respect to experts... Rajaratnam shall provide such disclosures by March 22."

The trial, to be held in US District Court in New York, is expected to last six to eight weeks.

One-time billionaire Rajaratnam is charged with conspiracy to commit securities fraud by working with others to trade in several publicly traded companies based on insider information. The charges carry a prison sentence of up to 25 years.

He was arrested and charged in October 2009, the central figure in what US prosecutors describe as the biggest probe of insider trading at hedge funds on record.

The allegations of insider trading against Rajaratnam center on a total of 35 stocks, mostly of technology companies. Galleon had USD 7 billion under management at its peak.

Federal prosecutors accuse Rajaratnam of making as much as USD 45 million in trades from confidential information about publicly traded companies.