Recent investigations by the Delhi police's economic offences Wing (EOW) have uncovered alleged financial irregularities in BharatPe's operations.
Co-founder Ashneer Grover and his family members are allegedly involved in questionable practices, including the use of backdated invoices to channel funds.
Eight HR consulting firms associated with Mr Grover's family, such as True Work Co, Team Source, and Impulse Marketing, filed bills with closed bank accounts, indicating the potential fabrication of invoices, according to the reports.
The investigation reveals that these seemingly distinct entities shared the same registered address, sparking concerns about their legitimacy and independence, possibly hinting at a conflict of interest.
“The use of backdated invoices not only raises issues of financial impropriety but also questions the transparency and accountability of BharatPe's financial operations,” stated the reports.
Additionally, the EOW's difficulty in tracing vendor payments adds a layer of complexity, prompting scrutiny into BharatPe's due diligence in its business transactions.
In May this year, the EOW had registered an FIR (first information report) against former BharatPe managing director Ashneer Grover for cheating and fraud of Rs81 crore.
The FIR, which was registered on the basis of a complaint filed by the company BharatPe, also mentions the name of his wife Madhuri Jain Grover, and family members, including Deepak Gupta, Suresh Jain, and Shwetank Jain.
The FIR was registered on Wednesday under Sections 406 (criminal breach of trust), 408 (criminal breach of trust by clerk or servant), 409 (criminal breach of trust by public servant, or by banker, merchant or agent), 420 (cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property), 467 (forgery of valuable security, will, etc.), 468 (forgery for purpose of cheating), 471 (using as genuine a forged document or electronic record) and 120B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code at EOW police station.
A senior police officer privy to the investigation said that a probe is going on, while refraining from going into the details of it.
“We welcome the registration of an FIR by the EOW in the company’s complaint in relation to the criminal offences by Mr. Grover, his wife Madhuri Jain and other family members. For the last 15 months, the company has been facing a vicious and malicious campaign run by Grover against the company, the board and its employees,” BharatPe had said in a statement.
“The registration of the FIR is a step in the right direction which unearths various suspicious transactions made by the family for their personal pecuniary gains. This FIR will now enable the law enforcement agencies to investigate deeper into the criminality and bring the culprits to books,” it said.
“We have full faith in our country's judicial and law enforcement systems and are optimistic that this case will reach its logical conclusion. We will continue to extend all possible cooperation to the authorities. MZM legal is advising us (BharatPe) on the criminal case,” it had added.
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