Ashneer Grover, the accused creator of financial startup BharatPe, has resigned as managing director and a director on the company’s board. Grover has found himself on the wrong side of the Board of Directors, important investors in the company, and his co-founders amid a quarrel within the corporation.
“I write this with a heavy heart since I am being forced to leave a firm that I founded today.” With my head held high, I declare that this company is now a leader in the fintech industry. Grover wrote in his resignation letter, “Unfortunately, since the beginning of 2022, I’ve been embroiled in baseless and targeted attacks on my family and me by a few individuals who are ready not only to harm me and my reputation but also to harm the company’s reputation, which ostensibly they are trying to protect.”
“From being hailed as the face of Indian entrepreneurship and an encouragement to Indian youth to start their enterprises, I’m now squandering my time fighting a long, lonely war with my investors and management.” Unfortunately, the management has lost sight of what is really at stake in this war – BharatPe,” he added.
Meanwhile, according to sources, the Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC) has declined to grant Grover emergency respite from the company’s governance review.
He filed an arbitration request earlier this month to halt an investigation into the company’s suspected financial misconduct. The BharatPe MD, who has been on vacation since last month and will return at the end of March, is seeking indemnity from the business in the petition.
Grover’s interest in the unicorn is being bought out by the company, and Grover is reportedly in talks to settle the problem. Grover’s 9.5 per cent share in the company was valued at Rs 1,915 crore in August’s fundraising round when BharatPe was valued at $2.8 billion.
“While I maintain that you will uncover no evidence of misconduct against me, I will not be part of your ruse.” “I am leaving you with this challenge because you believe you can operate this Company better without me,” he wrote in his resignation letter. “Build even half of the value I’ve produced so far – I’ll leave you with three times the monies I’ve used up to this point… “I will remain the company’s single largest individual shareholder,” he continued.
Last month, Grover took a two-month leave of absence after being accused of using abusive language against Kotak Mahindra Bank employees and engaging in fraudulent operations. Grover argued before the arbitrator that the initial investigation was illegal because it violated the shareholder agreement and memorandum of association. The corporation lacked the right to conduct such an inquiry. It was understood that the emergency arbitrator (EA) had dismissed all five grounds of his appeal and declined a single relief.
Grover resigned “minutes” after receiving the agenda for the impending board meeting, according to BharatPe, “which would include submission of the PwC report regarding his misconduct and weighing steps based on the report.” The Board “reserves the right to take action which is going to be based on the report’s conclusions,” according to the corporation.
Edited by- Subbuthai Padma
Published by-Radhika. N
