BharatPe makes it official, sacks top exec Madhuri Jain
PremiumBharatPe is also clawing back Jain’s equity in accordance with her employment contract, said a company official
BharatPe on Wednesday confirmed that it has sacked its head of controls Madhuri Jain while she took to Twitter with allegations of a “witch hunt." The fintech unicorn is also clawing back Jain’s equity in accordance with her employment contract, said an official with the company.
“As per your query, we can confirm that the services of Madhuri Jain Grover have been terminated in accordance with the terms of her employment agreement," a BharatPe spokesperson said.
Mint first reported on 21 February that the Delhi-based startup had sacked Jain due to alleged fraud and that it is clawing back stocks held by her as employee stock options (ESOPs).
Jain, the wife of embattled co-founder Ashneer Grover, is charged with the misappropriation of funds. The firing is based on a 24 January report by Alvarez and Marsal (A&M) submitted to the BharatPe board.
Jain did not immediately respond to a query seeking her response.
However, Jain made several allegations on Twitter. She alluded to BharatPe chief executive Suhail Sameer “sitting on Governance Review and passing judgement on me".
A spokesperson for BharatPe declined to comment on Jain’s comments on Twitter.
A&M’s preliminary report highlighted two egregious instances of fraud at BharatPe—irregularities in recruitment and paying non-existent vendors. Jain, who had headed BharatPe’s procurement, admin and HR departments since 2018, is allegedly linked to both the fraudulent schemes.
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“Jain was questioned by BharatPe investigators and lawyers for close to six hours last week. The investigators are understood to have reached a decision regarding her role in the so-called financial fraud. Therefore, the equity is getting clawed back," said the official cited earlier. Jain is not a founder or member of key management, which is why the firm sacked her even before the board took a call on the findings of another report by PwC, this official added. PwC and A&M were hired last month to look into alleged financial irregularities in the company.
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