A former Goldman Sachs Group Inc. vp testified that he by no means handed confidential tricks to a buddy who says they conspired to make 1000’s of {dollars} by buying and selling on inside info.
In an uncommon transfer in fraud trials, Brijesh Goel took the stand in federal courtroom in Manhattan Friday. He defended himself in opposition to testimony by his buddy Akshay Niranjan, the federal government’s star witness.
Niranjan defined over three days how they made roughly $280,000 in unlawful income by buying and selling on confidential info offered by Goel. The trial, which began final week and has pitted the 2 bankers in opposition to one another, has revealed even one of the best of friendships can shatter below the stress of a federal investigation.
Goel wasn’t required to testify and the choice carries dangers. He opens himself as much as cross-examination by prosecutors who will attempt to journey him up on his testimony, however he may attempt to clarify seemingly inculpatory proof akin to a dialog Niranjan recorded in secret, capturing his buddy allegedly asking him to delete incriminating textual content messages.
“This we have to delete,” Goel stated within the recording. “Did we placed on any commerce?… It must be deleted. I don’t even have this chat.”
However Goel testified the dialog wasn’t what it appeared.
“I panicked,” Goel stated “I believed he had executed one thing silly. I believed due to his stupidity he’s going to be in hassle and I’m going to be in hassle too. There was a lapse of judgment.”
Goel and Niranjan have been buddies who met in enterprise faculty on the College of California in Berkeley and later grew to become shut associates after touchdown prime jobs at Wall Avenue companies. Niranjan agreed to cooperate with the federal government as a part of a deal to not prosecute him.
The 2 lived in the identical constructing on Spruce Avenue in decrease Manhattan. Goel stated he tried to contact Niranjan a number of instances with out success, following an FBI go to that left him feeling rattled.
In a single try and persuade Niranjan to fulfill him, Goel had the constructing’s workers name Niranjan and ask him to convey down his “swim cap.”
“I had naively thought I used to be on this investigation and this mess as a result of he was my buddy,” Goel stated.
Goel’s attorneys have argued that Niranjan eavesdropped on Goel’s work calls with Goldman colleagues throughout social outings, and traded on what he heard about mergers and acquisitions within the pipeline. It wasn’t Goel who misappropriated the data, they stated.
Niranjan admitted that Goel did take enterprise calls typically after they have been out with associates, however he stated Goel often would go away from the group to conduct his enterprise.
“I didn’t pay attention, I used to be not making an attempt to pay attention in,” he stated. “I didn’t ever try this.”
The case is US v. Goel, 22-cr-00396, US District Court docket, Southern District of New York (Manhattan)
