In a win for federal prosecutors, the U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday embraced a broad interpretation of insider-trading rules that will allow the government to pursue cases even when it cannot be shown that the insider was trying to benefit from giving the tip.
Justice Samuel Alito Jr., himself a former U.S. attorney in New Jersey, wrote for a unanimous court, upholding a decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in the case of Chicago businessman Bassam Salman. He was convicted for trading on information he received second-hand from the brother of his sister’s husband, even though the tipper himself did not make money from the interactions.
