This is Rajneesh Kumar’s first comment since the controversy began in India, where investors are being scrutinized for alleged corporate governance errors and internal squabbles between Grover and the board.
Indian Board Chairman Rajneesh Kumar: Indian Board Chairman Rajneesh Kumar said on February 5 that risk advisory firm Alvarez & Marcel would initiate “corrective action” based on the results of its audit report. The company initially investigated corporate governance issues related to private investments made by co-founder Ashneer Grover.
There will be corrective measures
“Of course, corrective action will be taken on the basis of the report,” said Kumar, a former boss of State Bank of India, India’s largest lender, in an exclusive interview with Moneycontrol. This is Kumar’s first comment since the controversy began in India, where investors are being scrutinized for alleged corporate governance errors and internal squabbles between Grover and the board.
False payments, counterfeit sellers … find out what came out of Bharatpi’s investigation
There are allegations of irregularities in transactions with sellers, payment of consultants
Alvarez & Marsal is conducting an independent governance audit of BharatPe, a payment company that provides services to buyers with QR codes. Moneycontrol was informed about the irregularities in the transactions with the sellers on February 4. The report cites irregularities in the payment of contracts and consultants with vendors.
Report not yet received
Kumar, a veteran banker, said the board had not yet received reports from Alvarez and Marshall. He joined the Bharatpi Board in October 2021 as Chairman.
Ashneer Grover of BharatPe says – I will run the company or pay Rs 4,000 crore, there is no third option
“I joined the board in October 2021,” said Kumar, referring to how the major issues of corporate governance in India were ignored despite having banking experts like you. It is clear that the dispute over India has been going on for months.
Asked whether he would order an inquiry into the alleged irregularities in India, Kumar said the board would take a decision only after receiving reports from Alvarez and Marcel. There are many leading investors associated with BharatPe such as Tiger Global, Sequoia Cabital.
Original search
According to a report by Alvarez & Marsal, BharatPe has claimed that it has paid a hiring fee to consultants for the staff they hire. Alvarez and Marcel confirmed that some employees were brought before the board, who were claimed to have been hired through consultants. However, the staff concerned said that they had no contact with the consultants in this process and we do not know their existence.
According to the report, these consultants were given three installments of payment, the invoices of which came to Madhuri Jain Grover (wife of Ashani Grover) for payment and were sent to the Accounts Team. According to reports, the consignments were made by Shwetank Jain, brother of Madhuri Jain Grover.
Moneycontrol, in its February 4 report, said the RBI was also looking into possible cases of corporate governance flaws in startups.
Grover CEO Suhail Sameer was accused of collaborating with investors to get him out of the company.
