Goldman Sachs Group CEO Lloyd Blankfein said that the former director Rajat Gupta had a good tenure but not a long one. The CEO testified his statement at his trial on insider trading charges on Thursday at the Manhattan federal court.

Blankfein testified that that Gupta was not authorized to disclose the quarterly earnings of the investment bank in March 2007 and September 2007, which he learned as a board member. "Did you authorize Mr Gupta to disclose," asked Assistant US Attorney Reed Brodsky. "No," he replied. To the cross examination by Gupta’s lawyers, about his tenure Blankfein "It wasn't long but it was good."

Gupta, the former global head of consultancy firm McKinsey & Co., is accused of passing confidential information about the investment bank to Raj Rajaratnam, co-founder of the Galleon Hedge Fund LLP. Earlier prosecutors showed phone and trading records indicating Galleon made USD 13.5 million in profits and avoided USD 3.8 million in losses on the basis of the alleged tips from Gupta.

Blankfein will return on Friday to finish the cross-examination. Out of the courtroom, the Goldman Sachs chief declined to comment on the case but chatted on other topics. On persisting questioning about the issue the chief felt, "Let me put it this way. There are worse things than sitting around and waiting."  (With Inputs from Internet- Aarkay)