FBI features actor Michael Douglas- Wall Street's Gordon Gecko- in insider trading awareness campaign

Hollywood actor Michael Douglas, known for his appearance as the greedy broker Gordon Gecko in the 'Wall Street' movie in 1987, recently featured as FBI's spokesperson on securities fraud and insider trading. FBI has committed itself to fighting criminal behavior in the marketplace. “In the movie Wall Street I played Gordon Gekko, a greedy corporate executive who cheated to profit while innocent investors lost their savings. The movie was fiction, but the problem is real. Our economy is increasingly dependent on the success and integrity of the financial markets. If a deal looks too good to be true, it probably is,” said Michael Douglas. He appears in a one-minute video released by the FBI, asking those who know about inside trading cases to submit tips to the FBI. Video below. FBI's Operation Perfect Hedge, started in 2008, resulted in the first wave of arrest two years ago. By 2011, at least 56 people have been charged with insider trading and more than 50 have either pleaded guilty or been convicted after trial. Galleon Group LLC co-founder Raj Rajaratnam was convicted to 11 years in jail. According to prosecutors said he made more than USD 72 million by using illegal tips to trade in stocks of companies including Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS), Intel Corp. (INTC), Google Inc., ATI Technologies Inc. and Clearwire Corp. The investigation has also led to charges against former Goldman Sachs board member Rajat Gupta. Michael Douglas won the best Actor award at the Oscars in 1987 for his role in Wall Street. The movie had a sequel in 2010. Douglas, the eldest son of actor Kirk Douglas, has won three Golden Globes and two Academy Awards, and received an AFI Life Achievement Award in 2009. editor@romania-insider.com