Intel reassures Clearwire that confidential information is safe

Intel is working to reassure Clearwire about the safety of confidential data about the company, one week after federal prosecutors charged six money manager and hedge-fund operators with conspiracy and securities fraud as part of an insider-trading operation.

The prosecutors have alleged that Rajiv Goel, an executive in Intel's treasury department, leaked information to Raj Rajaratnam, the founder of the New York hedge fund Galleon Group, about the $3.2 billion investment Intel, Google, Comcast, Time Warner Cable, Bright House Networks and Trilogy Equity Partners were going to make in the new Clearwire ahead of the deal. Goel was involved in the negotiations leading up to the deal, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal. News of the deal broke early, but Galleon still managed to buy and sell enough Clearwire stock to make $579,000 on the deal.

Intel has since reassured Clearwire CEO Bill Morrow that confidential information about Clearwire is being safeguarded. "It's necessary to ensure that information is properly protected," Morrow told the Journal. He said that Intel and Clearwire are working on ways to refine policies that protect corporate data.       

Goel faces criminal charges of securities fraud and conspiracy as well as civil insider-trading charges. Intel CEO Paul Otellini told the Journal that the company had no knowledge of the insider-trading probe and that Goel has been placed on administrative leave while Intel sorts through the matter internally. 

For more:
- see this WSJ article [1] (sub. req.)

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