Flipkart co-founder Binny Bansal has resigned as the company’s group CEO, following an internal investigation conducted by both Flipkart and its parent firm, Walmart, into an allegation of “serious personal misconduct,” the two companies said in a joint statement.

Bansal, 37, has strongly denied the allegations, the company said in a statement. Bansal and his representatives could not be reached for comment.

“While the investigation did not find evidence to corroborate the complainant’s assertions against Binny, it did reveal other lapses in judgement, particularly a lack of transparency, related to how Binny responded to the situation,” the company said.

“Because of this, we have accepted his decision to resign.”

The investigation into Bansal that led to his resignation stemmed from an allegation of sexual assault that dates back a few years, a person familiar with the matter told Reuters.

“In late July ... an allegation came to us. It was a claim of sexual assault against Binny,” the source said, adding the individual concerned was a former Flipkart associate who was not with the company at the time of making the allegation.

“The investigation could not corroborate the allegation. It did, however, surface a lack of transparency on Binny’s part.”

Kalyan Krishnamurthy, who heads the company’s main Flipkart e-commerce operation, would now act as chief executive for a broader group of businesses including apparel websites Myntra and Jabong, the company said.

Walmart earlier this year agree to pay $16 billion for a roughly 77 percent stake in the Indian e-commerce firm, Amazon’s main rival for India’s 1.3 billion consumers.

It was the U.S. retailer’s largest-ever deal and a major move in its efforts to oppose Amazon at home and abroad.

First Published: Nov 13, 2018 17:24 IST