Ashneer Grover, co-founder and managing director of BharatPe has resigned. An audio clip surfaced earlier this year. It was a conversation between BharatPe co-founder Ashneer Grover and a Kotak Mahindra bank staffer. Grover and his wife Madhuri Jain appear to be at a crossroads in this episode. Ever since then, the Grover controversy has been all over the news.
“Ashneer Grover resigned as Managing Director and from the Board Director of BharatPe minutes after receiving the agenda for (an) upcoming Board meeting that included submission of the PWC report regarding his conduct and considering actions based on it. The Board reserves the right to take action based on the report’s findings,” the fintech firm said in a statement.
Ashneer sent an email to the board in which he wrote: “I hereby resign as the managing director of BharatPe, effective immediately. I also resign as a director of the Board. I will continue as the single largest individual shareholder of the company.”
The resignation comes after the sacking of his wife from the firm
As per Economic Times, his email further stated: “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 they are ostensibly trying to protect.”
“From being celebrated as the face of Indian entrepreneurship and an inspiration to the Indian youth to build their own businesses, I am now wasting myself fighting a long, lonely battle against my own investors and management. Unfortunately, in this battle, the management has lost sight of what is actually at stake BharatPe,” Grover wrote.
Grover’s move comes a day after the Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC) denied his request to stop a board probe.
Grover’s wife and the company’s ex-head of controls, Madhuri Jain, had her services terminated by BharatPe last week. It was due to suspicions of financial irregularities and money siphoning.
Market capitalization of USD 2.8 billion
BharatPe is a fintech company in India that serves small merchants and Kirana store owners. Interoperable QR codes for UPI payments, Bharat Swipe for card acceptance, and small business financing are among the company’s fintech offerings.
BharatPe, which has a market capitalization of USD 2.8 billion, services 75 lakh merchants across 150 locations. Since its inception, the firm has helped its merchants receive loans worth over 3,000 crores. Thus far, BharatPe has raised more than USD 650 million in debt and equity. Tiger Global, Dragoneer Investment Group, Steadfast Capital, Coatue Management, Ribbit Capital, and other investors are among the company’s investors.
