The United States Securities and Exchange Commission, which regulates American stock markets, on Thursday said it has filed insider trading charges against an Indian information technology contractor, his wife and father.

Insider trading refers to the transactions involving a public company’s stock or other securities by people with access to confidential information. The three are accused of accumulating a profit of $600,000 (Rs 4.23 crore) as a result of these transactions.

Rajeshwar Gannamaneni is accused of providing his wife Deepti Gandra and father Linga Rao Gannamaneni information about mergers, acquisitions and tender offers, the commission alleged. The market regulator said Gannamaneni stole the information during his time at an investment bank in Singapore.

The commission also accused Gannamaneni of trading in an account opened in a family member’s name in the US.

“Our continued use of innovative analytical tools to find suspicious trading patterns and expose misconduct demonstrates our resolve to catch insider traders who seek to take illegal advantage of the US markets for personal gain,” said the commission’s Associate Director of Enforcement (Philadephia) Kelly Gibson.