SEC wins $24.6-mn civil judgment against Deep Shah

The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) won a judgment against Deep Shah, who has been declared a fugitive in the insider trading case of Galleon Group LLC co-founder Raj Rajaratnam, that includes a civil penalty of $24.6 million.

Shah, an ex-analyst at Moody’s Investors Service Inc, was charged in November 2009 by Manhattan US Attorney Preet Bharara and sued by the SEC for allegedly passing along inside information about acquisitions involving Hilton Hotels Corp. and Kronos Inc.

The commission sought a default judgment in June against Shah and claimed he hasn’t responded to its suit. US District Judge Jed Rakoff signed the order on Monday and it was filed yesterday in federal court in Manhattan.

The judgment says Shah must pay back $8.2 million in profits gained or losses avoided as a result of the conduct alleged in the complaint, along with prejudgment interest of $1.76 million and the civil penalty.