Indian investment banker, Giridhar Sekhar convicted on extortion charges by US federal jury

BOSTON: An Indian investment banker has been convicted by a US federal jury on charges of extortion and threatening a New York state comptroller official to reveal an extramarital affair if a multi-million dollar pension contract was not awarded in his favour.

Giridhar Sekhar, 41, of Brookline near here was convicted of one count of attempted extortion and five counts of interstate transmission of an extortionate threat, an FBI statement said.

Sekhar, a managing partner at venture capital and private equity firm FA Technology Ventures, was arrested in December 2009.

He has been released pending sentencing, which is scheduled for August.

According to the indictment, Sekhar sent emails in 2009 to the general counsel at the New York State Comptroller.

In the emails, Sekhar threatened to reveal an alleged extramarital affair unless the general counsel agreed to a 35 million dollar investment of New York State Common Retirement Fund assets in funds managed by FA Technology.

The investment was not approved by the comptroller, who is the sole trustee and manager of the New York State Common Retirement Fund, the statement added.