Chief Information Officer of Publicly Traded Pharmaceutical Company Charged for Insider Trading Scheme

(South Asian Insider Bureau) An indictment was unsealed today charging a Pennsylvania man for his alleged role in an insider trading scheme involving the securities of Mylan N.V. (Mylan), a publicly traded pharmaceutical company. According to court documents, Ramkumar Rayapureddy, 54, of Upper Saint Clair, conspired with his former colleague, Dayakar Mallu, to fraudulently trade in Mylan securities based on material nonpublic inside information Rayapureddy obtained through his position at Mylan in advance of market-moving corporate announcements for their own financial gain. At the time of the alleged scheme, Rayapureddy was Mylan’s chief information officer. From 2017 through 2019, Rayapureddy allegedly tipped Mallu on multiple occasions with material nonpublic inside information about Mylan concerning, among other things, FDA drug approvals, financial earnings, and a merger with a division of Pfizer, Inc. Mallu allegedly used the inside information to execute trades in the company’s securities and in return Rayapureddy or his designee received cash payments. Rayapureddy is charged with one count of conspiracy to commit securities fraud and three counts of securities fraud. If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison on each of the securities fraud charges and five years in prison on the conspiracy charge. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. In September 2021, Mallu pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit securities fraud and aiding in the preparation of a false tax return and is awaiting sentencing. Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite, Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and Assistant Director in Charge Steven M. D’Antuono of the FBI Washington Field Office made the announcement. The FBI is investigating the case.