BBC wrong on RR nationality
BBC World News got the nationality of Raj Rajaratnam
wrong on its news trailers and crawlers last night (Oct 19).
More than 24 hours after the arrest of Raj Rajaratnam
by the New York Police for insider trading, the BBC kept on repeating
that he is a "Sri Lankan Billionaire".
This is what the trailers and crawlers said: "The Sri
Lanka stock market fell sharply over then arrest of a Sri Lankan
Billionaire in New York on insider trading charges."
Observers noted this as surprising for a news
organization that regularly stresses on the ethnic differences in Sri
Lanka in its news presentations, with references to the
Sinhalese-Buddhist majority and Tamil-Hindu minority.
Raj Rajaratnam was born in Sri Lanka but migrated to
the USA as a child and has been a US citizen for a very long time,
amassing a fortune, especially as a Hedge Fund dealer. The Colombo Stock
Market reacted adversely to news of his arrest due to the extensive
holdings he and funds managed by him have in Blue Chip companies of the
CSE.
In the midst of much speculation about the status of
inquiries into Rajaratnam's financial dealings, the Central Bank of Sri
Lanka issued a statement yesterday, stating: "investigations are yet
continuing in relation to the funding allegedly provided by Mr Raj
Rajaratnam to the TRO. Accordingly, any reports that suggest that such
investigations are concluded or that Mr Rajaratnam has been cleared of
possible involvement are incorrect and misleading."
It will be recalled that Rajaratnam made his entry to
the Colombo Stock Market in 2003, after the signing of the Ceasefire
Agreement between the UNP Government and the LTTE, facilitated by
Norway. His extensive contributions to the Tamil Rehabilitation
Organization (TRO) known as a front organization of the LTTE and banned
in Sri Lanka and the USA are well known. It is estimated he has invested
more than $150 million in Sri Lanka.
The New York hedge fund billionaire, Raj Rajaratnam is
accused of operating an alleged $20 million insider trading scheme
through his Galleon Group hedge fund, and other questionable financial
dealings.
He is one of the wealthiest men in America with an
estimated net worth of $1.3 billion and he was a major contributor to
the polls campaign of Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, also the single
largest known U.S. contributor to an alleged charity linked to the LTTE
- the TRO, which provided funds for the LTTE's terror campaign.
Bloomberg.com reported that: "Rajaratnam's net worth
of $1.3 billion makes him the 559th richest person in the world,
according to Forbes Magazine, on par with the likes of hedge-fund
manager Julian Robertson and investor Wilbur Ross. Rajaratnam has
invested in at least two New York City restaurants, Opia, in midtown
Manhattan, according to people who know him, and Rosa Mexicano.
Galleon was among the 10 largest hedge funds in the
world in the early years of this decade, and it managed $7 billion at
its peak in 2008. It also was one of the three largest technology hedge
funds along with Lawrence Bowman's Bowman Technology Fund, which closed
in 2001, and Daniel Benton's Andor Capital Management LLC, which shut
down last year.
Galleon's $1.2 billion Diversified fund has climbed
21.5 percent a year, on average, since 1992, according to a September
marketing document from the firm, compared with 7.6 percent for the
Standard & Poor's 500 Index of the largest U.S. companies. The fund has
returned 22.3 percent this year, according to an investor letter.
Charitable Giving
As Rajaratnam's wealth grew, he and his wife Asha
Pabla, who have three children, created a family foundation and have
given money to fight AIDS in India. They donated $5 million to help the
2004 tsunami victims in his home country of Sri Lanka, where Rajaratnam
was on vacation with his family when the disaster struck.
The foundation donated $400,000 in 2005 to the Tamils
Rehabilitation Organization in Cumberland, Maryland, according to tax
forms filed by the foundation with the Internal Revenue Service. Two
years later, the U.S. Treasury Department froze the assets of the
charity, saying it was a front for the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam,
or LTTE, which the State Department had designated as a terrorist group
10 years earlier.
'Thousands of Homes'
"His donation was responsible for rebuilding thousands
of homes for Tamils, Sinhalese, and Muslims without discrimination," Dan
Gagnier, a spokesman for Galleon, said in an e-mailed statement. Sri
Lanka authorities will review "significant" transactions carried out by
Rajaratnam, Channa De Silva, director general of the Securities and
Exchange Commission of Sri Lanka, said in an interview today. The agency
will "collaborate" with foreign governments in their investigations.
"We don't want a market glazed with investors of this
reputation and will make every attempt to keep the Sri Lankan market
clean," De Silva said, Bloomberg reported.
Meanwhile, Reconstruction and Rehabilitation
authorities here said there is little evidence of any large numbers of
house being built for any community affected by the tsunami on 2004 from
Rajaratnam's Funds, any other related donations, or by the TRO.
Related News:
FBI arrested Raja Ratnam was the biggest contributor to LTTE
connected TRO and controversial campaign funds of Clinton
Courtesy: priu.gov.lk |
