AMD man charged for stealing Intel trade secrets

Nic Simmonds

After studying a BA degree at the University of the Witwatersrand where he majored in Media Studies and Philosophy, Nic served as an intern at...

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Former Intel engineer Biswamohan Pani is being charged with stealing $1 billion worth of Intel trade secrets after he resigned to join AMD.
 
Pani had accumulated multiple days of leave while he was at Intel. After officially resigning he technically remained an Intel employee while using up his leave days. It was during this period that Pani allegedly used his access to Intel’s information systems to download more than a dozen confidential documents.
 
At the time that Pani was burning off his Intel leave days, he was already working for AMD. The obvious concern is that he downloaded confidential Intel information while he was under the employ of AMD.
 
According to The Associated Press prosecutors have acknowledged that AMD had no knowledge of Pani’s actions and have in no way benefited from the stolen information. They maintain that Pani downloaded in excess of $1billion worth of research and development information. The information apparently included detailed information on microprocessor designs.
 
Pani’s official statement is that he had no intention of harming Intel, and was planning on giving the information to his wife who is a current Intel employee.
 
AMD in the meantime has dropped Pani like a hot potato. Obviously wary of getting caught up in the matter, they terminated all contracts they had with Pani before the case even went to trial.
 
AMD’s official statement on the matter is: "AMD has not been accused of wrongdoing, and the FBI has stated that there is no evidence that AMD had any involvement in or awareness of Mr. Pani’s alleged actions."
 
Pani was initially charged with one count of theft of trade secrets. Recently, four more counts of wire fraud have also been directed at Pani. If found guilty Pani will serve a maximum of 10 years in prison and a further 20 for each count of wire fraud.
 
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