New Delhi:

Bharat Pe has officially settled its long-standing legal dispute with former co-founder Ashneer Grover in an agreement announced today, which states that Grover will no longer have any ties to BharatPe and neither will he hold any shares in the company.

Both parties were involved in a legal dispute since Mr Grover was removed from the position of Managing Director of BharatPe by the company’s board in March 2022.

“Both parties have decided not to pursue the cases filed. We wish Mr Grover well. BharatPe continues to focus on delivering industry-leading solutions to its merchants and customers driving growth with profitability,” said the Indian fintech company in a statement. 

This settlement comes amid allegations against Mr Grover and his family, including the arrest of Mr Grover’s brother-in-law, Deepak Gupta, by the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of Delhi Police. They have been charged with claims of financial misconduct that reportedly cost BharatPe around Rs 81.3 crore. The company accused them of making improper payments to fake vendors and engaging in fraudulent activities.

I have reached a decisive settlement with BharatPe. I repose my faith in the management and board, who are doing great work in taking BharatPe forward in the right direction. I continue to remain aligned with the company’s growth and
success. I will no longer be associated with… pic.twitter.com/gB3Pla5qQZ

— Ashneer Grover (@Ashneer_Grover) September 30, 2024

In a statement after the settlement, Mr Grover took to social media platform X (formerly Twitter) and expressed his support for BharatPe’s management and board. “I repose my faith in the management and board, who are doing great work in taking BharatPe forward in the right direction. I continue to remain aligned with the company’s growth and success. I will no longer be associated with BharatPe in any capacity, nor be part of the capital table,” he wrote. 

As part of the settlement, some of Grover’s shares will be transferred to the Resilient Growth Trust for the benefit of BharatPe. A source close to the company said to Moneycontrol, that he will be transferring 1.4% of his holding to the BharatPe board, with the rest 3.5-3.7% going to a family trust. Both parties have also agreed to drop all ongoing legal cases against each other.

New Delhi:

The Delhi High Court today referred a dispute between BharatPe, an online money transaction platform, and its former managing director Ashneer Grover to a sole arbitrator.

In its plea filed before the Delhi High Court, the fintech company alleged that Mr Grover disclosed confidential information relating to BharatPe on social media platforms, in violation of the employment agreement.

Before the issue reached Delhi High Court, responding to BharatPe’s notice to refer the matter to arbitration, Mr Grover agreed on the formation of an arbitral tribunal but disagreed on the name of sole arbitrator.

In an earlier round of litigation, the Delhi High Court imposed a fine of Rs 2 lakh on Mr Grover over blatant violation of earlier orders and assurances made by him to not post on social media defamatory posts against BharatPe.

It had asked Ashneer Grover as well as the officials of the fintech company not to speak in a “unparliamentary” or “defamatory” manner against one another.

The Delhi High Court issued an order restraining Mr Grover from making defamatory and derogatory statements against BharatPe, its office bearers, or officials, and asked Mr Grover to remove his posts, including one calling the SBI Chairperson “petty”.

Ashneer Grover and his wife allegedly committed financial irregularities when they were at the helm of the fintech platform.

BharatPe terminated the services of Madhuri Jain, head of controls, after an internal probe found misappropriation of funds that ran into crores during her tenure.

The fintech platform claimed that Mr Grover, his wife, and their relatives were engaged in extensive misappropriation of company funds and grossly abused company money to fund their lavish lifestyles.

Mr Grover had already moved an arbitration plea with the Singapore International Arbitration Centre pleading that the investigation launched against him was illegal because it violated the shareholder agreement and articles of association.
 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

The Delhi High Court on Tuesday asked payment app BharatPe’s former MD Ashneer Grover not to transfer or create any third-party rights in the shares transferred to him by the company’s co-founder Bhavik Koladiya.

Justice Prateek Jalan passed the interim order on a lawsuit by Mr Koladiya seeking to reclaim the shares he transferred to his erstwhile colleague.

The judge opined that the plaintiff, Mr Koladiya, made out a prima facie case for the grant of such an injunction as he would suffer irreparable loss and prejudice if third-party rights were created in the shares being claimed by him.

“Defendant No.1 (Grover) is therefore restrained from transferring or creating any third-party rights in the Suit Shares, or any rights accrued or which may accrue to him as a consequence thereof, until the disposal of the suit,” the court in its order.

“It is made clear that the observations and findings in this judgment have been recorded only for disposal of this application and are not intended to prejudice the parties at trial,” clarified the court.

Mr Koladiya and Shashvat Nakrani founded BharatPe in July 2017, although the firm was not incorporated till March 2018. Mr Grover had joined the company in June 2018 and resigned in March 2022.

Last January, Mr Koladiya had approached the high court claiming that he had sold to Mr Grover his 1,600 shares whose total value was around Rs 88 lakh but no money was paid to him.

He had said the shares have now become 16,000 and the title need not pass to Mr Grover and that he was asking for his goods back which he had given.

The court had then issued a summons to Mr Grover while noting his counsel’s submission that he would not create any third-party rights in the 16,110 shares in question under further orders of the court.

Mr Koladiya, in his interim application, had sought an interim injunction restraining Mr Grover from creating any third-party rights in the shares which are the subject matter of the suit.

The application was opposed by Grover’s counsel.

Mr Koladiya, who ran the fintech firm’s technology and product divisions, had stepped down in 2022.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)