New Delhi: Rajnish Kumar, former SBI chairman and current chairman of BharatPe, has said that the Ashneer Grover row was just an aberration.
In an interview to CNBC-TV18, Kumar has mentioned that the fintech firm’s board is now more engaged with looking into key monetary issues closely.
Grover was stripped last month of all company titles over alleged extensive misappropriation of company funds and using company expense accounts to enrich themselves and fund their lavish lifestyles. He was terminated from the company last month as he was embroiled in a conflict with the board regarding an alleged governance lapses under him.
The news channel asked Kumar what are the big lesson for the investor community and for founders over better handling such situations in the future.
In his reply, the BharatPe chairman said that the start-up universe is very different. “When it is in a growth phase, it is possible that the kind of governance which is expected is not there. But I would still consider it to be an aberration. The investors' faith in India is intact. It is intact for commercial considerations, if not anything else. I am talking about the big size of the market," he said, while adding, "There is technological talent in the country. There are attractions. Whether it is a start-up, fintech, mid or large-sized, aberrations would be there. Sometimes we are in shock that this company could be doing something like this. The media should not pay so much attention to BharatPe.”
When asked about the Ashneer Grover episode, he said, “I would not like to discuss the internal situation and the reasons behind it. Everything can be explained. But, it is not the time to explain. The only thing is now the board is much more engaged. All the policies, governance issues, gaps, everything is being looked into. There will be an action plan and it will be implemented. And, everyone can see it.”
Meanwhile, Ashneer Grover has once again hit at the board members of the fintech company, saying snatching the keys and running a corner shop are two different skill-sets.
He has also written to the company’s board seeking action against CEO Suhail Sameer following his offensive remark on a LinkedIn comment and sought Chairman Rajnish Kumar’s resignation.
The salary row began with a social media post by a former Bhartpe employee Karan Sarki who claimed that the company sacked the old staff and that they were not paid their salaries.