Vinod Sekhar

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Vinod Sekhar (born, Vinod Balachandra Sekhar; 6 August 1968) is the Chairman and Chief Executive of the PETRA Group,^[1] which is a global conglomerate involved in sustainable industries, with a stated goal of providing "solutions for humanity". PETRA Group's businesses include restaurants, recycling rubber, media and entertainment, agriculture and modular building materials.^[2]

Sekhar is currently being sued by 12 investors and former employees, for alleged fraud, misrepresentation, breach of contract, and acknowledgement of debt.^[3] Further, in 2021, the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission opened a money laundering and tax evasion investigation into Mr Sekhar's affairs.^[4]

Mr Sekhar is the founder of the Vinod Sekhar Foundation that undertakes various initiatives to alleviate poverty, provide healthcare and education, and support the most vulnerable communities including the indigenous, disabled, old folks, children, refugees, and poor. Mr Sekhar has a history of unfulfilled philanthropic commitments including an £8 pledge to Saint Andrews Medical School in 2010 as well as supplying 200,000 COVID vaccines in 2021. In fact, Mr Sekhar has a history of profiting from the sale of medical devices and allegedly purchased a $17.5M yacht with proceeds from the sale of ventilators during the COVID pandemic.^[5]

He was named by Forbes magazine as Malaysia's 28th richest man in 2009.^[6]

The title of Dato' was given to Sekhar at the age of 26 by Yang di Pertuan Besar of Negeri Sembilan, Tuanku Ja'afar on his 71st birthday, who was at that time the 10th Yang di Pertuan Agong of Malaysia.