Appeals court upholds ex-Goldman director insider trading conviction

The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected the claim by Gupta, also a former global managing director of consulting firm McKinsey & Co, that his trial judge improperly admitted wiretap evidence.

Gupta had appealed his June 2012 conviction and two-year prison term for having fed confidential tips from Goldman board meetings in the second half of 2008 to Raj Rajaratnam, a longtime friend and head of the Galleon Group hedge fund firm.

Rajaratnam was also convicted of insider trading, and is serving an 11-year prison term.

(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York)