Goldman pays large chunk of $30 mn legal fee for Gupta

Fees not only include his month-long trial, but also two-and-a-half-year legal odyssey that finally led to the charges

Financial services firm Goldman Sachs has paid a large chunk of the nearly $30 million legal fees for its former board member Rajat Gupta's defence, a media report said.

"Goldman Sachs has paid for the bulk of Gupta's legal defence, which has cost nearly $30 million," the New York Times reported, citing a source familiar with the matter.

Proctor & Gamble paid the remaining balance, NYT said.

Gupta who was a board member at Goldman Sachs and Proctor & Gamble was found guilty last week of passing confidential boardroom discussions at Goldman to the former founder of hedge fund Galleon, Raj Rajaratnam.

As per a deal reached between Goldman and Gupta before the trial, the latter would have to reimburse the bank for the legal fees advanced to him if found guilty, the report noted.

In addition, Goldman must continue to pay Gupta's bills until a final resolution of Gupta's appeal, a process that could take a couple of years.

"Goldman has been advancing Gupta money to pay his lawyer's bills because the bank's by laws require it to pay the legal fees of its top officers and directors for conduct that occurred while acting on behalf of the company," the NYT said.

"And Delaware, where Goldman is incorporated, has generous laws regarding indemnifying executives to protect them from incurring personal liability for their work while doing their jobs," it added.

The publication noted that Gupta's lawyer fees does not only include his month-long trial, but also two-and-a-half- year legal odyssey that led to the charges against him, including a pitched battle with the Securities and Exchange Commission in a related civil case.