BharatPe former co-founder and managing director Ashneer Grover on Friday hit out at former SBI Chairman Rajnish Kumar and said that hiring him was his ‘biggest mistake’.
In a tweet, Grover said, “Rajnish Kumar was my biggest hiring mistake. Not only because of what transpired – but bcoz I overlooked data. Under Rajnish as CMD, SBI stock tanked 25% in 3 yrs (INR 257 —> INR 192). That’s $8 Bn of value destruction. After he left it went to ₹570 (up 200%). Data is never dogla (hypocritical)!”
Rajnish Kumar was appointed as the chairman of BharatPe board in October 2021.
In October 2021, Grover spoke about Rajnish Kumar‘s appointment and had said, “It is a matter of great validation and pride for us that one of the biggest stalwarts of the Indian Banking Industry has agreed to join BharatPe as the Chairman of the Board. We look forward to invaluable guidance from Rajnish Kumar as we build India’s largest digital credit provider. We are confident that under his able guidance, BharatPe will attain newer heights and build the best-in-class Fintech for the new India.”
Meanwhile, his jibe at Kumar comes amid Delhi Hight Court last week issued notice and summons to Ashneer and his wife Madhumita in a plea filed by the company, seeking orders to restrain them from making defamatory statements against the company.
This is not the first time he has commented on any board member. Last week, Grover took a dig at BharatPe CEO Suhail Sameer and said that the CEO allegedly spent money on personal expenditures that he raised, but is unable to help the fintech firm grow.
In a tweet, Grover wrote, “Suhail (CEO)- bahut aish kar li Ashneer ke raised funds pe. Ladkiya bhi ghuma li Australia. Par hai to hum nalle- hiring, product, tech, UNITY bank, PA license, market share- kuchh nahi hil raha humse. Kya karenge? Sumeet (GC)- Case karenge! Case karenge! Case karenge!
A day after fintech unicorn BharatPe accused Grover, and his family of embezzling company funds to pay for personal expenses, Ashneer on 9 December shared an incident with another co-founder Shashvat Nakrani and exposed his ‘Doglapan’.
Sharing it on Twitter, Ashneer wrote, “Doglapan: Shashvat (Co-Founder) to me. Bhai degree poori karni hai. Ek saal office bunk kar ke IIT poora kar leta hoon. Secondary kara dena aur salary bhi mat rokna – investor ko mat batana. Shashvat to Board: No objection in filing case against Ashneer.”
Last week, BhartPe had filed a criminal suit against its former MD and co-founder Ashneer Grover and his family, seeking up to ₹88.67 crore in damages for alleged cheating and embezzlement of funds.
The suit, running into 2,800 pages, alleges that Grover, his wife Madhuri Jain and other family members created fake bills, enlisted fictitious vendors to provide services to the company, and overcharged the company for recruitment.
The civil suit and criminal complaint came up before the Delhi High Court, which issued notices to the Grover family and asked them to respond within two weeks. The next hearing date has been set for January 9.
It also issued summons to the other defendants, including Grover’s brother-in-law, his father and his brother. If found guilty, they could face imprisonment for up to 10 years.
“Pass a decree of permanent injunction restraining the defendants (Grover and others) and/or anyone on their behalf in any manner whatsoever from making defamatory/derogatory statements concerning the plaintiff (BharatPe), its directors, employees and/or publicising, printing the same in any medium or form whatsoever,” the suit said, while also seeking direction to the defendants to disclose their assets.
The four-year-old company hit the headlines earlier this year when Grover was accused of using inappropriate language and threatening a Kotak Group employee for failing to secure an allotment and funding for the Nykaa IPO for himself and his wife Madhuri Jain Grover.
Thereafter, BharatPe appointed Alvarez and Marsal, Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas, and PwC to conduct a corporate governance review and determine whether Grover had committed willful misconduct.
This led to the ouster of Jain and Grover resigning from the company and its board in March.
On May 10, BharatPe said that after the detailed review, the company had decided to take steps against employees involved in misconduct and claw back Ashneer Grover’s restricted shares.
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