Delhi HC summons Ashneer Grover, wife and kin over BharatPe's complaint

Fintech unicorn accuses them of fraud, claims Rs 88.67 crore

The Delhi High Court on Thursday summoned former co-founder and managing director (MD) of BharatPe Ashneer Grover, his wife Madhuri Jain, and their three family members over alleged misappropriation of funds, based on a complaint filed by the company, sources said.

BharatPe -- the fintech platform for small merchants -- has filed civil and criminal cases accusing the former MD and his family members of fraud, forgery, inflating invoices, and creating fake bills. The company has also sought a recovery of Rs 88.67 crore from Grover for alleged losses.

Jain, former head of controls of BharatPe, was sacked from her position in February on charges of misappropriation of funds. Grover filed an arbitration plea in the Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC) in February to stop a probe into the alleged financial mismanagement in the company. However, the SIAC refused to grant emergency relief. Later in March, Grover stepped down from his post and resigned from the company.

Months later, the company filed a complaint with the Economic Offence Wing of Delhi Police. The charges involve 17 Sections of IPC, including Sections 403, 407, and 420, Business Standard has learnt. The Delhi High Court has summoned the Grover family to respond to the complaints within two weeks.

“BharatPe has initiated civil and criminal action against the erstwhile co-founder and managing director, Ashneer Grover, former head of controls, Madhuri Jain Grover, and other connected parties of their family for various claims, including misappropriation of company funds. We have full faith in the courts and authorities and are confident that justice will be done. As the matter is sub-judice, we have no further comment to offer at this stage,” a spokesperson of BharatPe said.

The disagreements between the employees and the board of the company have continued through the year, leading to a series of exits in the fintech unicorn backed by Tiger Global and Sequoia.

A few months after Grover’s exit, another co-founder, Bhavik Koladiya, and chief revenue officer Nishit Sharma resigned from the company. Last week, four of the company’s top executives — including its chief technology officer (CTO) and chief product officer (CPO) for lending and consumer products — left the company.