Federal Bureau of Investigation probes into insider trading rose by an annualized 43 percent in the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, the Financial Times reported.
The spike follows the biggest crackdown on insider trading since the 1980s, the Times added, noting that since 2009, criminal charges have been filed against 72 hedge fund traders, company insiders and consultants.
High profile convictions have included Raj Rajaratnam, the founder of Galleon Group, and Rajat Gupta, a former director of Goldman Sachs.
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The FBI is working with financial regulators to identify and take out inside traders.
More charges are coming down the pipeline, the Times reported.
Rajaratnam, a billionaire in a former life, is serving an 11-year prison sentence, though he plans to appeal his conviction.
A federal appeals court will hear oral arguments on Oct. 25, according to Reuters.
Rajaratnam was convicted 2011 on 14 counts of securities fraud and conspiracy, after a jury heard FBI secret recordings of his conversations.
Wiretaps are normally used to prosecute organized crime figures and drug traffickers, though their use in insider trading cases reflects an increased interest by the FBI to go after financial crimes.
Meanwhile, Rajiv Goel, a former Intel executive and friend and associate of Rajaratnam, avoided prison time in the case by testifying against the disgraced hedge fund giant.
“I had a serious lapse of judgment and good sense and I deeply apologize ... I hope that I am given another chance to repair the harm that I have caused,” Goel told a judge, Reuters reported.
Although he avoided jail time, Goel was given probation.
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