It’s either ‘bring me back to head #BharatPe‘ or ‘give me Rs 4,000 crore to walk away’ for AshneerGrover, who sat down for an exclusive interview with moneycontrol.com.
A preliminary investigation by risk advisory firm Alvares and Marsal has highlighted two instances of alleged fraud at BharatPe, the merchant-focussed fintech firm, co-founded by Mr. Grover. The firms controller till recently, Mr. Grover’s wife Madhuri, has also been allegedly linked to both the fraudulent schemes.
The report dated 24 January was submitted to the BharatPe board. Mint earlier reported the boards’ decision to terminate the services of Mr. Grover based on this report, even as a comprehensive report has been commissioned.
Mr. Grover has been in the news for an audio recording allegedly featuring the entrepreneur abusing a Kotak Mahindra Bank relationship manager.
Following this, Grover went on voluntary leave of absence till March 2022, as the company CEO Suhail Sameer continues to lead the team. Grover has written a letter to the board seeking removal of Sameer, accusing him of taking sides with investors to oust him out of the company he co-founded.
While Grover denies all accusations against him, he said he will exit only if an investor buys out his 9.5% stake in the company at a valuation of $6 billion, as per a Moneycontrol interview.
‘What have I done to resign? This is like execution before trial. I am the MD (managing director). I run the company. If the board thinks I dont need to be the MD and someone else should run the company, please put my Rs 4,000 crore on the table and take the key away from me,’ Grover told Moneycontrol.