Exclusive: Ashneer Grover claims he was threatened at BharatPe AGM; raises concerns over Rs 315 crore ESOPs to top brass

BharatPe co-founder Ashneer Grover

In a letter to the BharatPe board, former managing director Ashneer Grover alleged that he was threatened by the company's general counsel at the December 31 annual general meeting (AGM) and that the absence of Chairman Rajnish Kumar and key investors at the meeting demonstrated their lack of commitment to running the company.

The purported letter sent by Grover on January 3 has been reviewed by Moneycontrol. It also mentions that 7,880 equity shares of the company worth Rs 315 crore were majorly allotted to four key managerial personnel of the company – Chairman Rajnish Kumar, founder Shashvat Nakrani, outgoing chief executive officer Suhail Sameer, and general counsel Sumeet Singh, as part of an ESOP (employee stock option plan).

"Sumeet as Chairman of course conveniently conducted the meeting in a biased manner and threatened me saying ‘Mai tujhe meeting ke baad bahar batata hoon’ – a clear threat I’ll see you outside the meeting. This is exactly like how Bhavik Koladiya had previously threatened me from Rajnish Kumar’s house in February 2022," Grover said in his letter.

According to the letter, the AGM was rushed, and questions about the company's financial dealings were not answered.

In addition, Grover noted in the letter that Rajnish Kumar's absence from the meeting was unexplained, and he delegated the Chairmanship to founder Shashvat Nakrani, who then appointed general counsel Sumeet Singh to preside over the meeting.

The embattled founder also flagged a Rs 60 crore debt funding raised by BharatPe from a firm related to an alleged acquaintance of outgoing CEO Suhail Sameer, asking if the deal was audited by the firm. He remarked that the debt had been pre-paid by the fintech unicorn ahead of schedule.

"The Company’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) was conducted in full compliance of applicable laws and customary procedures on December 31st. Any suggestion to the contrary is false. Mr Ashneer Grover and his wife, Mrs Madhuri Jain Grover, joined the AGM with the clear intent to disrupt the proceedings," the company told Moneycontrol in response to queries sent with regards to the letter.

"Throughout the three-hour long meeting, Mr Ashneer Grover exhibited unruly, intimidating and threatening behaviour towards the authorised representatives and employees of BharatPe who were doing their best to fulfil the statutory obligations of the company," it added.

It further said that "these are retaliatory and diversionary tactics being resorted by him and are likely a response to the criminal complaint and civil suit filed against him and his family members for various financial improprieties".

In December, BharatPe filed a lawsuit against Grover, his wife Madhuri Jain, and other family members, seeking damages in excess of Rs 88 crore for alleged misappropriation of funds.

BharatPe announced on January 3 that chief executive officer Suhail Sameer will step down from his position and assume the role of strategic advisor beginning on January 7, 2023. Later, Sameer disclosed to Moneycontrol that he intends to set up a venture capital fund with two of his friends in order to invest in consumer brands, consumer tech and fintech startups.

Meanwhile, the company has appointed chief financial officer Nalin Negi as interim CEO to work with senior executives to bolster execution in all phases of the company’s business.

The company’s board of directors has also retained a leading executive search firm to assist with succession planning and the CEO search.

Four of the company's senior executives have left to pursue their entrepreneurial interests since the beginning of 2022, including chief technology officer Vijay Aggarwal, chief product officer for lending and consumer products Rajat Jain, and Nehul Malhotra, head of consumer lending platform PostPe.

Geetanshu Singla, who served as the Vice President of technology too has moved on.

The exits came in a year when Tiger Global and Sequoia-backed BharatPe saw the controversial exit of founder Ashneer Grover. Grover’s exit was followed by co-founder Bhavik Koladiya leaving the company later in 2022.