An investor-CEO who’s the son of a Silicon Valley pioneer was arrested Saturday on suspicion of rape in downtown San Francisco.
Booking records show Andrei Karkar, 47, is also accused of robbery, false imprisonment, and assault with a deadly weapon, among other charges. He was in jail as of Tuesday morning.
Police said officers responded to a call shortly after 9 a.m. Saturday on Fremont Street between Mission and Howard, where they found a woman who said she was raped and assaulted. She was transported to a hospital.
Public records show Karkar lives in a $6.7 million three-bedroom, three-bath condo at 181 Fremont Street. According to real estate records, the condo is owned by “AMK Trust III. ” The trust’s name matches Karkar’s initials, and records show it owns another $2.9 million condo in the Fremont Street building.
It is not clear how police identified Karkar as the suspect. The San Francisco Chronicle first reported his arrest.
Karkar is CEO of ERAS Holdings, a San Francisco-based investment firm that “engages in a broad range of investment activities.” California business filings list a $2.2 million home address in the Marina as the firm’s office, which is also owned by AMK Trust III.
The Georgetown University graduate sits on the board of a Canadian metal mining company.
Karkar is the son of the late Edward Karkar, described in a 2013 obituary as a Palestinian refugee who, after attending Stanford and UC Berkeley, founded the telecommunications company Karkar Electronics. The company supplied equipment to NATO, the Department of Defense, Raytheon, and AT&T, according to the obituary.
“Edward Karkar was considered a Silicon Valley pioneer, cultivating a generation of technology executives and entrepreneurs and laying groundwork for the fertile environment that exists today,” the obituary says.
Karkar’s mother is Natalia Makarova, a Russian-born ballerina who, according to Britannica, is “considered to be one of the greatest classical dancers.”
The San Francisco district attorney’s office did not immediately reply when asked if it plans to press charges. Karkar’s attorney did not respond to a request for comment.