BharatPe saga: Allegations fly thick and fast as firm fires Madhuri Jain

Founder & MD Ashneer Grover has filed an emergency plea in SIAC to stop a probe into alleged financial mismanagement in the company.

Madhuri Jain, the head of control at BharatPe and wife of the company’s embattled Founder and Managing Director Ashneer Grover, has been sacked by the fintech company, according to several media reports.

"As per your query, we can confirm that the services of Madhuri Jain Grover have been terminated in accordance with the terms of her employment agreement," a company spokesperson said.

On Wednesday morning, Jain posted a flurry of video clips of office revelry on Twitter and alleged that the company’s top brass indulged in 'drunken orgies', called the company’s Board 'chauvinistic', said she has been treated like an object, and labelled the ongoing governance review in the company as a ‘witch-hunt’.

Meanwhile, media reports have emerged saying that Ashneer Grover has filed an emergency plea in the Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC) to stop a probe into alleged financial mismanagement in the company.

The BharatPe MD, who is on leave till March end, is also said to be seeking indemnity against any future action by the company through the plea. The company and Grover are reportedly in parallel talks to settle the matter through a buy-out of the latter’s stake in the unicorn.

Grover’s stake of 9.5 per cent in the company was worth Rs 1,915 crore based on the last funding round in August 2021 when BharatPe was valued at $2.8 billion. However, in a recent interview, the BharatPe founder said that he will leave the company only if he is paid Rs 4,000 crore, valuing the company at $6 billion.