Just days after Bharti's co-founder and managing director Ashneer Grover resigned from the company's board, the fintech startup terminated the services of his wife and the company's controlling head Madhuri Jain Grover over alleged financial irregularities.
Grover's resignation comes minutes after the Board's agenda for the upcoming meeting, including submission of a PWC report on his conduct and consideration of action on the basis of it, Bhartpe said in a statement. The Board reserves the right to take action based on the findings of the report, the company said.
Why is Ashneer Grover resigning from Bharat Pay Board?
"In his resignation letter, Grover alleged that the company's board had ""expelled"" him for ""vested interests"". "He alleged that the recent developments related to the company appear to be a ""fight of arrogance being played in the media gallery under the garb of good governance"." Grover also alleged that the "investor template" is to remove an "undesirable" founder, to make the founder a "tukde-tukde villain", which he claims is being done to him.
"Today I am being defamed and treated in the most shameful manner,"Grover wrote in the letter.
He said that the views of the board members, on trade and on the problems on the ground, are coloured by the windows of the Ivory Tower in which you all live.
The fundamental fact is that as an investor you are so far away from reality that you have forgotten what real business looks like and there is no appreciation for running this enterprise day in and day out. Your approach to BharatPay is limited to the small window of your zoom meetings application, Who 's far from sweating to make BharatPe a business leader. None of you, Including those located in India, He has never visited our office even once, Because the pandemic turned our lives upside down and tried to suffocate the economy. not once,Grover wrote in his resignation letter.
Will Ashneer Grover hold a stake in the company?
In his resignation letter, Grover is understood to have said that he will continue to be the largest individual shareholder in the company. Grover holds a 9.5 per cent stake in BharatPay, and according to the companys previous fund, his stake was Rs 1,800-1,900 crore.
What does this mean for India?
The Indian Express had earlier reported that BharatPe's board plans to impose certain conditions in the shareholders' agreement to end Grover's employment and deprive him of a certain amount of stake. The fact is that Grover has said that he will continue to hold his equity in the company, even when he steps down as MD, is likely to fail from the talks to acquire Grovers stake. Grover currently holds 9.5% stake in BharatPay, while his co-founder Shashwat Nakrani holds 7.8%. VC investor Sequoia Capital India is the largest shareholder in BharatPe with 19.6%, followed by Coatue 12.4% and Ribbit Capital 11%. Apart from these three, Tiger Global, Steadview Capital and Benext have also supported BharatPay, and these marquee investors hold a 60.4% stake as of August last year.