New Delhi
Amidst an ugly corporate tussle with the company’s board, Ashneer Grover, the embattled founder of fintech unicorn BharatPe, has resigned as the managing director and a director. Grover, in an email sent to the fintech’s board, said that he had been ‘vilified’ and treated in the ‘ most disrespectful manner’ since the beginning of the year.
Grover’s resignation comes days after Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC) rejected his emergency plea, against the ongoing ‘governance review’ within the company. Earlier this month, he had filed an arbitration plea to stop a probe into alleged financial mismanagement in the company. He is also seeking indemnity against future action by the company through the plea.
he corporate drama began two months ago after an audio clip surfaced online where Grover allegedly abused a Kotak Mahindra Bank employee.
“I write this with a heavy heart as today I am being forced to bid adieu to a company of which I am a founder. I say with my head held high that today this company stands as a leader in the fintech world. Since the beginning of 2022, unfortunately, I’ve been embroiled in baseless and targeted attacks on me and my family by a few individuals who are ready not only to harm me and my reputation but also harm the reputation of the company, which ostensibly they are trying to protect,” Grover wrote in his resignation letter.
BharatPe, which allows shop owners to make digital payments through QR codes, came under intense investor scrutiny ahead of its Initial Public Offering, after Grover sought damages from Uday Kotak, the head of Kotak Mahindra Bank. Grover has alleged that the bank turned down his request for Rs 5 billion to invest in the IPO (Initial Public Offering) of online beauty products company Nykaa at the “eleventh hour.”
