SUMMARY
Grover reportedly alleged that BharatPe has deliberately “defrauded” RBI by bringing back Bhavik Koladiya to the company’s cap table, after securing a few licences
The former BharatPe MD has reportedly demanded that all of BharatPe’s licences be revoked if the company was found guilty
Grover’s demand also includes blacklisting of the venture firms that are associated with the fintech startup and imposition of monetary penalties on them
BharatPe’s former MD and cofounder Ashneer Grover has reportedly written to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) requesting an investigation into the shareholding of the fintech unicorn.
As per an ET report, Grover said in the letter addressed to RBI governor Shaktikanta Das, dated March 6, that BharatPe has deliberately “defrauded” the regulator by bringing back Bhavik Koladiya to the company’s cap table, after securing a few licences.
It is pertinent to note that the former BharatPe cofounder Koladiya was also alleged to have stolen information from the company and for other frauds in the US.
Grover has reportedly sought investigation to ascertain whether the Peak XV-backed fintech startup’s board and investors had “warehoused” Koladiya’s shares for a certain time period only to bring him back after the requisite approvals were received from the RBI.
To that end, Grover also questioned the central bank on whether the regulator would have deemed BharatPe fit for a 49% stake in Unity Small Finance Bank or allowed it to acquire a controlling stake in Liquiloans if Koladiya was part of BharatPe’s cap table during the time of the licence application.
It is pertinent to note that BharatPe, which is also a joint venture partner in Unity Small Finance Bank with the Centrum group, also secured approvals from the RBI to acquire a 51% stake in the NBFC, Trillion Loans Fintech, in March last year. Meanwhile, BharatPe’s P2P investment product is powered by Liquiloans, which is also founded by Trillion Loans Fintech’s founding team.
On the other hand, last year BharatPe received in-principle authorisation from the RBI to operate as an online payment aggregator through its wholly-owned subsidiary Resilient Payments.
As per the ET report, in his letter to the central bank, Grover has demanded that all of BharatPe’s licences be revoked if the company was found guilty. He has demanded a ban on the company’s board of directors from holding any directorship or management position in any RBI-regulated entity, in such case.
Reportedly, Grover’s demand also includes blacklisting of the venture firms that are associated with the fintech startup and imposition of monetary penalties on them.
Besides, he also said that BharatPe’s other cofounder, Shashvat Nakrani, transferred shares to Koladiya, in 2022-23. He claimed that Nakrani transferred an 11.7% stake, amounting to about INR 600 Cr, to Koladiya for free, citing the company’s annual reports.
A legal battle was ongoing between Nakrani and Grover as well when the latter had filed an appeal against the December 15, 2023 order, which had rejected an interim application to restrain Grover from selling or alienating the shares.
The Delhi High Court disposed of Nakrani’s plea against the order last month. The HC refused to restrain Grover from selling or alienating shares that Nakrani had sold to him.
Since its launch, BharatPe has raised over $650 Mn in funding rounds from marquee investors, including Peak XV Partners, Ribbit Capital, Insight Partners and Steadview Capital.
The fintech unicorn posted a net loss of INR 926.9 Cr in FY23, which widened 12% year-on-year while its consolidated operating revenue jumped 125% to cross the INR 1,000 Cr mark during the same period.
