Who is Varun Gupta? IIT graduate who leaked Intel secrets to Microsoft, was fined Rs…
Varun Gupta, an IIT graduate, shared Intel’s secret trade and business files with Microsoft while he was working with the former company. He was later heavily fined for his deliberate actions after which he expressed regrets.
Gupta worked for Intel for almost a decade and shared stolen files with Microsoft.
An IIT graduate is among the most popular candidates for tech companies, and for them working in top IT companies like Google, Microsoft, and others is like dreams coming true. However, Intel, the world’s third-largest semiconductor chip manufacturer, has placed one of its employees on probation and even imposed a massive fine due to claims of leaking thousands of confidential Intel files to Microsoft. Varun Gupta is a graduate from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) and had earlier worked with Intel.
How Varun Gupta leaked Intel’s files?
Gupta worked for Intel for almost a decade as a product marketing engineer. The company found that he copied a huge number of files, at least thousands, which contained sensitive documents like Intel’s pricing strategy for a crucial client, internal presentations, and competitive analysis that was the basis for its business. He shared them with Microsoft which he joined in early 2020 after leaving Intel.
The company’s prosecutors argued that leaking these crucial documents was important for him in securing a leadership role at Microsoft but would also help Microsoft, the company he shared the documents with, in negotiations with Intel. Before Varun left Intel, he used to spend most of his time transferring files containing sensitive business and trade information.
What happened in the court case of Varun Gupta?
Assistant US Attorney William Narus led the prosecution and had asked for an eight-month federal prison sentence for the former Intel employee, arguing that he continuously and deliberately accesses Intel’s files. He said, “Gupta had purposefully and repetitively accessed secret documents.” But Judge Amy Baggio did not support the imprisonment. In her ruling, she imposed a fine of USD 34,472 (Rs 29 lakh), which was calculated to be equivalent to the cost of the eight months of prison requested by the prosecution.
Defence lawyer David Angeli told the court that Gupta’s image had been tarnished due to the case and so he would not be able to work in a major tech giant and had paid USD 40,000 (around Rs 33.4 lakh) as a civil settlement with Intel.
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Intel’s filed a court case against Varun in February 2021, before the settlement was reached. Since them criminal proceedings had been continued, and the court in December 2024 formally charged Gupta with stealing trade secrets. In February 2025, he pleaded guilty and also showed regret to the US government, Microsoft, and Intel for his actions.
He quit his career in the field of technology and went to Europe with his family and is currently pursuing a degree in vineyard management to opt for a career in the wine industry.
