Ashneer Grover says ex-SBI chief Rajnish Kumar was his 'biggest hiring mistake'

Ashneer Grover resigned as BharatPe's MD on Mar 1, 2022

BharatPe co-founder Ashneer Grover, who was at helm of the company till March this year, said bringing former State Bank of India (SBI) chairman Rajnish Kumar on board was his "biggest hiring mistake".

Kumar, who was associated with the state-run SBI for around four decades, joined BharatPe in October 2021, and was appointed as the fintech unicorn's chairman.

According to Grover, he "overlooked data" while bringing the veteran banker for the key leadership position at BharatPe.

"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 (₹257 —> ₹192). That’s $8 Bn of value destruction. After he left it went to ₹570 (up 200%). Data is never dogla! (sic)," he tweeted.

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 (₹257 —> ₹192). That’s $8 Bn of value destruction. After he left it went to ₹570 (up 200%). Data is never dogla ! pic.twitter.com/m2z7AsZG3H

— Ashneer Grover (@Ashneer_Grover) December 16, 2022

Grover had resigned as the managing director of BharatPe, and as a director on the company's board, on March 1 following a hectic boardroom battle.

His outburst against Kumar comes five days after he attacked BharatPe's chief executive officer Suhail Sameer and general counsel Sumeet Singh on Twitter.

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, mkt share - kuchh nahi hil raha humse. Kya karenge?
Sumeet (GC): Case karenge ! case karenge ! Case karenge#doglapan pic.twitter.com/K0Q8qJ60e1

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— Ashneer Grover (@Ashneer_Grover) December 12, 2022

Meanwhile, BharatPe on December 8 filed a civil suit against Ashneer Grover, his wife Madhuri Jain, and other family members, seeking over Rs 88 crore in damages for alleged misappropriation of funds.

In addition, the company has filed a criminal complaint with the Economic Offences Wing on 17 counts, including embezzlement, forgery, and criminal breach of trust, which could land the Grovers in jail for up to 10 years if proven guilty.

Moneycontrol accessed and reviewed a part of the 2,800-page civil suit filed by BharatPe against the Grovers, which alleges an astounding web of fake bills and misappropriation of company funds for personal use.