NEW YORK — A federal court judge in Manhattan on Thursday postponed the start date for the securities fraud trial of Galleon Group founder Raj Rajaratnam until March 8.

Billionaire Rajaratnam has denied that he benefited from inside information passed to him by company insiders, including details about Advanced Micro Devices proposed merger with ATI Technologies in 2006.

Jury selection was scheduled to begin on Feb. 28. No reason was given in court papers for the delay.

Of the 26 people originally charged in the case, 19 have already pleaded guilty, including former Galleon Group employees.