The Delhi Police Department of Economic Crimes registered a First Information Report (FIR) against BharatPe co-founder Ashneer Grover, his wife Madhuri and other family members for allegedly embezzling the company’s funds and causing a loss of ₹81.28 crore.
FIR names Madhuri Jain Grover, BharatPe’s former Head of Control, as the main defendant for using self-generated “false” and “false invoices” for her personal gain. Her family members Shwetank Jain and Suresh Jain were also named in the FIR.
Another family member, Deepak Gupta, who was previously BharatPe’s purchasing manager in charge of administration, logistics and order processing, was named in the 18-page police report.
According to FIR, several “irregularities” and “illegal actions” led to the present lawsuit against the defendants. These include wrongful payments of ₹7.6 million to bogus recruiters based on 86 false and forged invoices.
The FIR mentions excessive and improper payments by “passthrough vendors” associated with the defendants to the detriment of BharatPe.
There are also allegations of bogus transactions and embezzlement totaling ₹71.76 crore against the defendant. These include making “dishonest” and “illegal payments” to travel agencies associated with suspected individuals based on false and forged invoices for previously used services from reputable suppliers.
The FIR has been registered on eight counts of serious crimes, including forgery, fraud, criminal breach of trust and destruction of evidence.
If convicted, Grover, Madhuri and others face anything from 10 years to life imprisonment, BharatPe says, adding that the Delhi Police Economic Crimes Branch now has the power to arrest all those accused.
“We welcome the registration of an FIR by the Economic Crimes Branch of the Delhi Police in the company’s complaint relating to the crimes committed by Mr. Grover, his wife Madhuri Jain and other family members,” the fintech firm says.
The FIR comes a year after Sequoia-backed BharatPe took “necessary action” against its ousted co-founder Ashneer Grover to reclaim his blocked shares under the shareholders’ agreement.
“Over the past 15 months, the company has faced a malicious and malicious campaign by Grover against the company, its board of directors and its employees. The registration of the FIR is a step in the right direction that will bring to light various suspicious transactions of the FIR family for their personal financial gain. This FIR will now allow law enforcement to investigate crime more deeply and hold perpetrators accountable. We have full confidence in our country’s judicial and law enforcement systems and are optimistic that this case will succeed, which is a logical conclusion. We will continue to expand any possible cooperation with the authorities,” says the fintech unicorn.
Founded in 2018, BharatPe says it has a network of 1 crore dealers in over 400 cities. In January, the fintech startup’s managing director, Suhail Sameer, resigned from his position as strategic advisor.
