Why FIR has been registered against BharatPe's ex-MD Ashneer Grover
The Delhi Police's Economic Offences Wing (EOW) has registered an FIR against BharatPe's former managing director Ashneer Grover, his wife and former Head of Controls Madhuri Jain, and three other family members based on a complaint lodged by BharatPe last year. Jain's brother Shwetank Jain and father Suresh Jain are among those booked for financial misconduct, including BharatPe's former Head of Procurement Deepak Gupta.
Accused of making illegitimate payments by forging invoices
The accused have been booked on eight counts of serious cognizable criminal offenses. If convicted, they could be imprisoned for at least 10 years or life. The EOW suspects that the accused made illegitimate payments amounting to Rs. 7.6cr to made-up Human Resource consultants by forging 86 invoices. It also accused Grover of making unlawful payments to travel agencies on behalf of his kin.
Details about FIR
The FIR has been registered under sections 406 (punishment for criminal breach of trust), 408 (criminal breach of trust by clerk/servant), 409 (criminal breach of trust by public servant, or by banker, merchant or agent), 420 (cheating), 467 (forgery of valuable security, will, etc.), 468 (forgery for purpose of cheating), 471 (using as genuine a forged document/electronic record), and 20B (punishment of criminal conspiracy).
What are the allegations against the couple?
BharatPe has accused Grover of embezzling Rs. 71.76cr based on sham transactions and false and inflated payments for services that had already been availed. Madhuri, on the other hand, is accused of using forged invoices for personal enrichment through reimbursements and destroying evidence.
BharatPe welcomes the registration of FIR
"For the last 15 months, the company has been facing a vicious and malicious campaign run by Grover against the company, the board, and its employees," BharatPe said following the FIR registration. The company's spokesperson added, "The registration of the FIR is a step in the right direction which unearths various suspicious transactions made by the family for their personal pecuniary gains."
BharatPe's co-funders sued Grover separately earlier this year
Earlier this year, BharatPe's two co-founders, Shashvat Nakrani and Bhavik Koladiya, sued Grover separately over a dispute regarding shares. Further, Madhuri was terminated from her post in February 2022 after the company discovered the alleged financial irregularities, and Grover quit the following month.
