NEW YORK (Reuters) – A U.S. jury on Monday found a former Credit Suisse Group investment banker guilty of insider trading and conspiracy.
Prosecutors accused Hafiz Naseem, 37, of participating in a $7.5million scheme to leak inside information about pending corporatetakeovers by calling a friend in his native Pakistan, who then tradedon the unlawful tips.
Naseem was accused of conspiracy to commit securities fraud and 28additional counts of insider trading, and faces at least 25 years inprison and deportation.
He sat impassively beside his lawyer as the jury foreperson answeredguilty on each of the 29 counts. The jury of eight women and four menhad been deliberating since Thursday afternoon.
The trial before U.S. District Judge Robert Patterson follows amistrial in the case in December, when a different judge found thatjurors had failed to follow instructions.
Prosecutors say Naseem fed nonpublic, material information onpending transactions to Ajaz Rahim, a former head of the investmentbanking group at Faysal Bank Ltd in Pakistan.
Among those deals, prosecutors contend, was the $32 billion private equity buyout of power company TXU Corp.
An arrest warrant is pending against Rahim, who is fighting extradition from Pakistan and is not on trial.
(Reporting by Martha Graybow; Editing by Brian Moss)
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