A former top Abraaj Group executive pleaded guilty in New York to engaging in racketeering and fraud at what was once the world’s largest emerging-markets private equity firm.

“When things turned bad in 2014, I should have walked away,” Mustafa Abdel-Wadood said in an emotional statement before the court. “I considered it but didn’t. My commitment to Abraaj compromised the integrity of my judgment, and I ended up drifting from who I really am.”