McKinsey partner charged with insider trading

(Reuters) — A partner at the McKinsey consulting firm was criminally charged Wednesday with insider trading ahead of Goldman Sachs Group Inc.'s agreement to buy fintech lender GreenSky Inc. for $2.24 billion, U.S. prosecutors said.

Puneet Dikshit, of Manhattan, faces two securities fraud counts after allegedly generating about $450,000 of profit from 2,500 GreenSky call options that he bought in the two days before the merger was announced on Sept. 15.

Authorities said Mr. Dikshit led McKinsey's unsecured lending practice in North America and had been a lead partner advising Goldman. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filed related civil charges.

Lawyers for Mr. Dikshit did not immediately respond to requests for comment following the defendant's arrest on Wednesday.

McKinsey said it has fired Mr. Dikshit for “a gross violation of our policies and code of conduct. We have zero tolerance for the appalling behavior described in the complaint and we will continue cooperating with the authorities.”

GreenSky is a specialty lender that arranges consumer loans for large one-time purchases such as home remodeling, cosmetic surgery and dental implants.

Its share price rose 53% on the day the merger was announced and had been volatile on the three prior trading days, when options trading was particularly busy.

Prosecutors said Mr. Dikshit bought his call options, a bet the stock price would rise, without receiving pre-clearance from McKinsey, and sold them shortly after the merger was announced.