Michael Cherkasky, the newly-appointed chief executive of Marsh & McLennan, the insurance broker at the centre of a probe into bid rigging by Eliot Spitzer, the New York state attorney general, has contributed $14,500 (€11,400) to Spitzer's election campaigns since 2002.

Cherkasky replaced Jeffrey Greenberg as chief executive of Marsh & McLennan earlier this week after Greenberg was ousted following Spitzer's lawsuit against the firm.