What Defines Insider Trading and When Is It Illegal?: QuickTake

It’s obvious to most people that insider trading is cheating and ought to be a crime, though it can be difficult to prove and prosecute. Ivan Boesky and hedge fund billionaire Raj Rajaratnam famously went to jail for doing it and George Soros paid a big fine. Still, the cases can be murky: You don’t need to actually trade to be guilty of insider trading, and not every trade on inside information is a crime. Still, prosecutors argue their famous cases — such as one filed in New York this year against UK billionaire Joe Lewis — build trust ...