Prosecutors seek more than two decades in jail for Raj Rajaratnam

US prosecutors have asked that Raj Rajaratnam be sentenced to anywhere from around two decades to 24 and a half years in prison, according to court filings following his conviction for insider trading.

The prosecutors said Mr Rajaratnam, the billionaire founder of the Galleon hedge fund group, should be sent to prison for between 235 and 293 months. Judge Richard Holwell is expected to hand down the term at the end of next month.

"Raj Rajaratnam's criminal conduct was brazen, arrogant, harmful and pervasive," the prosecutors said in their court filing. "He corrupted subordinates. He corrupted entire markets. Day after day, month after month, year after year, Rajaratnam operated as a billion-dollar force of deception and corruption on Wall Street."

In an earlier filing, Mr Rajaratnam's lawyers said that his "failing health and the unique constellation of ailments ravaging his body mean, quite simply, that a lengthy period of imprisonment will constitute a death sentence and result in the permanent and final separation of Mr Rajaratnam from his family."