Updated on Thursday, November 05, 2009, 23:42 IST Tags:FBI, hedge-fund

New York: The FBI has arrested 14 people for alleged involvement in what prosecutors say was the largest hedge-fund insider trading scheme ever on Wall Street, prosecutors in New York said on Thursday.

Manhattan US Attorney Preet Bharara said 14 people, "including attorneys and Wall Street professionals" were arrested "for their alleged involvement in insider trading that netted 20 million dollars."

The hedge fund, Galleon Management LP, was shut down last month after founder Raj Rajaratnam was indicted in the alleged scheme. He faces up to 20 years in prison for allegedly using insider information on companies including Google, IBM and Hilton.

Five others were charged along with Rajaratnam. Rajaratnam's fund was estimated to be worth USD 3.7 billion when it was shut down. The entrepreneur featured on Forbes magazine's world list of billionaires this year in the 559th spot.

Bureau Report