BharatPe to overhaul governance framework, sack several employees

Indian payments startup BharatPe said on Tuesday its board had recommended several measures, following a corporate governance review, including termination of several employees and vendors and filing criminal cases against them for misconduct.

IPO-hopeful BharatPe, which allows shop owners to make digital payments through QR codes, had initiated a corporate governance review in January hoping to soothe investor worries over a public spat involving personal investments by one of its co-founders.

The firm, which competes with apps including SoftBank's Paytm and Google Pay in India's booming payments market, came under intense investor and media scrutiny after co-founder Ashneer Grover sought damages from Uday Kotak, head of Kotak Mahindra Bank, alleging that the bank declined him financing for a personal investment. 

In January, Reuters had reported that the audit would assess if BharatPe's senior executives are making proper internal disclosures about personal investments and check for conflicts, leading to a new code of conduct.