BharatPe fires Ashneer Grover: BharatPe, a payment startup, has fired its co-founder Ashneer Grover because of what it says was its “misdeeds.”
The company may take even more legal action, including taking back Grover’s shares.
As soon as Grover saw the agenda for an upcoming board meeting, he resigned.
The plan included an independent audit of Grover’s behavior, which Grover did not want to do.
The company’s board met last night, and the meeting went well into the night. A statement was then sent out after that meeting.
Because of the report’s findings, the company said it has the right to do something.
“The Grover family and their relatives, including but not limited to, created fake vendors through which they took money from the company’s account and abused company expense accounts to fund their lavish lifestyles,” the report said.
READ MORE: Enable the New Bluetooth Menu in Windows, Quick Settings
A few minutes before midnight on March 1, Ashneer Grover was sent an email.
He should come to a board meeting at 19:30 on March 2. At 12:05 on Tuesday, he stepped down.
Sources say that the Board of BharatPe was aware that Grover had been fired because he resigned as managing director and as a director on the company board.
But, because he resigned without the board’s approval and most of the investors, the consequences of the shareholder agreement have now started, they said. This could mean that the company has the right to take back shares up to 1.4%.
As of right now, Grover owns a 9.5% stake in BharatPe. His co-founder, Shashwat Nakrani, owns 7.8% of the company. Sequoia Capital India owns 19.6 percent of BharatPe, followed by Coatue with 12.4 percent and Ribbit Capital with 11 percent. Coatue and Ribbit Capital are also shareholders.
When Grover was called, he said he was shocked by the personal nature of the company’s statement but not surprised.
“It comes from a place of personal hatred and low thought,” he said.
Then I’d like to find out which of Amarchand, PwC, and A & M is doing an audit of how “lavish” someone is in their lives.
BharatPe, which has hired a law firm and risk advisory consultants to look into more detailed allegations of financial irregularities, fired Madhuri Jain, the head of controls and wife of Grover, last month.
She is accused of using company funds for personal trips, beauty treatments, electronics, and paying for help at her home.
The company states that talking about Jain’s lavish lifestyle may have referenced how he spent money.
In the beginning, an internal investigation has estimated that the amount of money stolen from the company was more than 50 million dollars.
The audit is being done by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) and Alvarez & Marsal (A & M).
On the other hand, Grover said that “the only thing lavish about me is my dreams and my ability to achieve them against all odds through hard work and entrepreneurship.”
“$1 million (Rs. 8 crore) of secondary shares investors bought from me in Series C, $2.5 million (Rs. 19 crore) in Series D, and $8.5 million (Rs. 64 crores) in Series E.”
“I hope the board can get back to work soon. As a shareholder, I’m worried about how much value has been lost. I hope the company and the board get better soon, “he said that.
Allegations that Grover used abusive language toward Kotak Mahindra Bank employees and committed fraud led him to be sent on a two-month leave of absence on January 19.
Grover has now asked for an arbitration hearing with the Singapore International Arbitration Center (SIAC), claiming that the company’s investigation into him was illegal.
His appeal was rejected by the emergency arbitrator (EA) last week, and he didn’t get any of the five grounds he had.
On Tuesday, he quit BharatPe.
After the review, his wife Jain, who had been in charge of procurement, finance, and human resources since the company started, was fired, and her ESOPs were canceled. This was just a few days before this happened.
In a statement, BharatPe said that it would follow the highest governance standards.
The Board ordered a full review of the company’s internal controls because of complaints.
In just a few minutes after Ashneer Grover learned that some of the investigation results would be presented to the Board, he sent an email to the Board, quit, and told another false story about the events to the public, the report said. “The company is very unhappy with Mr. Grover telling lies and making false accusations and threats.”
The company said it has the right to take him and his family to court again.
“The Board will not let the disgusting behavior of the Grover family hurt BharatPe’s reputation or that of its hard-working employees or world-class technology,” it said. Because of his mistakes, Grover is no longer an employee, a founding member, or a board member.
Grover is said to have made a lot of accusations about BharatPe board members and Sequoia Capital.
Grover has said that Sequoia will not be able to make any investments in India if he starts talking, and the ED and CBI will be there to back them up.
“The Board is still very concerned about the growth and success of the company. The Board is taking all the steps to improve the company’s corporate governance, such as setting up an audit committee, hiring an internal auditor, and putting in place other essential internal controls. “The company said that.
BharatPe’s success, it said, comes from the work of a lot of people who are both dedicated and talented, not just one person.
People say they are sure that the company is about to start a new chapter in its success, built on trust and honesty. They are excited to start this next part of their journey.
