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Goldman Sachs Chief Blankfein may testify at insider-trading trial

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The highest-profile trial underway in New York may soon see testimony from a marquee witness: Lloyd Blankfein, chairman and chief executive of the powerful investment bank Goldman Sachs.

Blankfein could testify as early as Monday in the insider-trading trial of former Goldman director Rajat Gupta, who is accused of illegally passing secret company information to hedge fund manager Raj Rajaratnam.

Rajaratnam, who ran a vast insider-trading network as head of the Galleon Group, was sentenced to 11 years in prison following his own trial last year. Blankfein took the stand at Rajaratnam’s trial year.

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Federal prosecutors have accused Gupta, among other crimes, of tipping off Rajaratnam to Warren Buffett’s infusion of $5 billion into Goldman at the height of the 2008-09 financial crisis.

Gupta’s trial is scheduled to end by mid-June. Blankfein may testify Monday or Wednesday, according to a tentative witness list distributed by the court.

Anil Kumar, who along with Gupta was a top executive at consulting firm McKinsey & Co., was scheduled to continue testifying Monday morning.

Ajit Jain, who some see as a potential successor to Buffett at Berkshire Hathaway, is slated to testify later via videotape for the defense.

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