Bansri Shah, Pune
Ashneer Grover, co-founder of BharatPe, following a legal settlement, severed all ties with the company on Monday, adding that he will no longer hold any shares in the company. This resolves the prolonged legal conflict between the company and its co-founder.
In an official statement, Bharat Pe stated that as a part of the settlement, Ashneer Grover will not be affiliated with the company in any way, shape or form. The shares that are held by Grover currently will be transferred to the Resilient Growth Trust and the remaining will be handled by his family trust. A source told Moneycontrol that he will be transferring 1.4% of his stake to the BharatPe board, while the remaining 3.5-3.7% to his family trust.
Additionally, Grover will also be returning shares to Bhavik Koladiya, BharatPe’s co-founder. As per Koladiya’s claim, he made a transfer of 1,611 shares of the company to Grover in January 2023, which has since risen up to 16,110 shares. The shares were valued at Rs. 88 lakhs and Koladiya claims that he has not received any payment for the same. This issue subsequently went to court, resulting in Grover being prohibited from selling the shares. Following the settlement, all legal actions have been dropped by both parties.
Grover took to X after the settlement expressing his confidence in the company’s management and board, praising their efforts in steering the company in the right direction. He also stated that he remains committed to the company’s success and growth.
The case began in December 2022 with allegations against Grover and his family for causing huge losses to the company that amounted to about Rs. 81.3 crores. He was accused of financial misconduct and embezzlement through illicit payments to fake HR consultants, increased expenses from vendors, fraudulent input tax credit transactions, unauthorized payments to travel agencies, fabricated invoices, and tampering with evidence. Co-founders, Bhavik Koladiya and Shahvat Nakrani also filed suits against Grover in January and March 2023 respectively.
Nearly five months after BharatPe lodged a criminal complaint, the Delhi Police Economic Offences Wing (EOW) filed an FIR against Ashneer Grover, his wife Madhuri Jain, and other relatives. Last week, EOW arrested Deepak Gupta, a family member, in connection with the misappropriation of company funds.
BharatPe also resolved the legal disputes with PhonePe, earlier this year, over the use of the suffix ‘Pe’.