An IBM executive arrested in connection with an insider trading case has been placed on temporary leave of absence, the US computer giant said on Monday.

IBM senior vice president Robert Moffat, 53, was one of six people charged with insider trading that netted $20-million on trades in Google, Hilton Hotels and other companies.

"In view of a US federal investigation into his personal activities, Robert W. Moffat Jr. has been placed on temporary leave of absence and is no longer serving as an officer of IBM," an IBM spokesman said.

Among those charged by the Justice Department was Raj Rajaratnam, head of the Galleon Management hedge fund and listed by Forbes magazine as the 559th richest person in the world with $1.3-billion.

Also charged in the scheme were Moffat, Danielle Chiesi and Mark Kurkland, employees of the New Castle hedge fund group of the defunct Bear Stearns; Rajiv Goel of Intel Capital, the investment arm of Intel and Anil Kumar of the consultancy McKinsey & Co.