In his long resignation letter, Ashneer Grover had criticized the investors who are “removed from reality” and could not sense the problems on the ground. But, trust me; it is not as simple as it appears to be. There was a hidden corporate politics that left Grover with no option but to take a forced exit from BharatPe.
It took one e-mail to tarnish Ashneer’s image
Are you also one of those who thought that Ashneer Grover threatening a Kotak Bank employee over a phone call led to his ousting from BharatPe? Well, you’ve been fooled. What actually culminated in his ouster from the payments startup was the whistleblower’s e-mail. All this began in January this year when whistleblower committee of BharatPe received a strange e-mail.
Believing that Grover’s wife Madhuri Jain Grover was also a member of the committee, the mail was left blank with the subject line “fraud.” Soon, BharatPe’s general counsel Sumeet Singh and investors received separate e-mails loaded with details and documents referring to the misappropriation of funds.
Beginning of the end for Grover
It raised many eyebrows not only at the New Delhi-based fintech unicorn but also its biggest investor, Sequoia India. The Indian unit of the US venture-capital firm said referring to the BharatPe episode that “When whistleblowers call us to report on issues, we always take them seriously.”
Ashneer Grover does not sugar-coat his opinion. He is rather straightforward. Thus, his “well-wishers” in the management always did the needful to get him out of trouble each time. However, the Kotak bank employee controversy and Grover’s appearance on the startup reality TV show Shark Tank attracted the public interest. However, BharatPe’s management apologised to Kotak Bank and the bank too let the episode go.
Then the whistleblower’s e-mail happened. The details mentioned in the e-mail and attachments appeared to be authentic. Thus, a Delhi-based auditor was hired. BharatPe’s investors came to learn about the GST penalties levied on the company. It was a red flag. Afterwards, Grover was sent on a leave of absence as the committee wanted to conduct an independent probe.
It was later revealed how the fake viral audio clip was used to keep him away from the company and BharatPe CEO Sameer “manipulated” him to go on leave.
Then came the need for a forensic audit. The role of Grover’s wife Madhuri was being questioned. She was also sent on a leave. However, the parts of Alvarez & Marsal’s preliminary report were leaked to the media and this invited the wrath of Grover.
As per the reports, the Directorate General of GST Intelligence (DGGI) conducted a search operation at BharatPe’s head office last year in October. The head of administration at BharatPe stated that the vendors whose details were sought did not exist. The report further stated that total expenditure of INR53.25 crore was made towards these 30 vendors that did not exist and the company incurred a loss of INR10.97 crore in these dealings.
Grover’s exit
Grover was furious as the reports were being leaked. He questioned the reliability of the investigation. If the sources are to be believed, not many people besides the board members and the executives of the audit firm knew what was in the preliminary report. All the personal devices of BharatPe’s key managerial personnel were put under surveillance to prevent any information leaks.
Read more: The story of BharatPe’s end begins with Ashneer Grover’s exit
BharatPe’s board stepped in with the decision to terminate Grover. The board called in a meeting to present PwC’s report to Grover as well and take his defence on record before terminating him. Grover being Grover wasn’t ready for such humiliation. On March 1, ahead of the board meeting, Ashneer Grover sent his “Letter of Resignation” to the board.
While the companies do not disclose the complete findings of investigative reports, BharatPe issued a statement a day after resignation of Ashneer Grover accusing the Grover family and their relatives of being engaged in extensive misappropriation of company funds.
So, this was how the company, which Ashneer Grover founded and built from scratch, forced him to exit.
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