Following a regulator’s accusation of insider trading, Rajat Gupta has been replaced as chairman of the International Chamber of Commerce by ICC board member Gerard Worms.

Worms is linked to a number of senior roles accrued from more than 50 years’ worth of experience in both the public and private sectors.

As well as his new chairmanship role, Worms is also chairman of ICC France, vice-chairman of investment bank Rothschild Europe and former chief executive officer of French multinational, the Suez Group.

The ICC has stated that the replacement came after Gupta personally requested to be succeeded while he defends himself in a civil court action against a March 1, 2011 complaint made by the US watchdog the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

The furore centres on the SEC alleging that Gupta shared non-public information with Raj Rajaratnam, founder of Galleon Group hedge fund management firm, while on the boards of Goldman Sachs and Proctor and Gamble.

Gupta has not been charged criminally and maintains his innocence.

In September 2008, Gupta allegedly leaked information of a US$5bn investment into investment bank Goldman Sachs by Berkshire Hathaway chief executive officer Warren Buffet, which Rajaratnam’s fund then allegedly used to its advantage and bought a number of Goldman shares before selling them the next day and allegedly generating illicit profit and loss avoidance of more than US$17mn, according to the SEC complaint filing.

Gupta only became the ICC’s chairman in July 2010, and has also stepped down from a number of other high-profile roles including his position as senior advisor to Bill and Melinda Gate’s philanthropic venture, the Gates Foundation.

The Gates Foundation also accredited Gupta with taking the decision to step down himself.