'I Am The Rebel Slave...': Ashneer Grover Resigns As BharatPe MD & Director

Ashneer Grover took a two-month leave of absence in January following allegations of using abusive language against Kotak Mahindra Bank staff and fraudulent practices

Ashneer Grover | File Image

New Delhi: Ashneer Grover, who has been embroiled in a bitter fight with the board of fintech firm, BharatPe, resigned from his position of managing director (MD) on Tuesday. He is also one of the founders of the company.

The development comes days after his wife, Madhuri Jain Grover, has been sacked as the head of controls over allegations of funds misappropriation.

Grover took a two-month leave of absence in January following allegations of using abusive language against Kotak Mahindra Bank staff and fraudulent practices in BharatPe.

He had filed an arbitration plea with the Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC) claiming the fintech firm’s probe against him was illegal.

However, Grover failed to secure an interim relief from the SIAC, which has allowed an investigation against him on alleged financial irregularities and governance lapses at the company, the PTI reported quoting sources.

In his letter of resignation to the board, Grover said: "I write this with a heavy heart as today I am being forced to bid adieu to a company of which I am a founder. I say with my head held high that today this company stands as a leader in the fintech world. Since the beginning of 2022, unfortunately, I’ve been embroiled in baseless and targeted attacks on me and my family by a few individuals who are ready not only to harm me and my reputation but also harm the reputation of the company, which ostensibly they are trying to protect."

Last month, BharatPe disclosed that it had hired Alvarez to conduct a governance review of the company, and PwC was also roped in.

Since the launch of the governance review, Grover questioned the board’s intention and media leaks with parts of the audit report by Alvarez and Marsal finding a way to social media.

Accusing the investors of the treatment meted out to him, Grover wrote, "You treat us Founders as slaves – pushing us to build multi-billion-dollar businesses and cutting us down at will. Investor-Founder relation in India is one of Master-Slave. I am the rebel slave who must be hung by the tree so none of the other slaves can dare to be like me ever again."

In the resignation letter, he challenged the board on the company's daily operations. Grover wrote, “Since you clearly believe you can run this company better without me – I am leaving you with this challenge. Build incrementally even half of the value I created so far – I am leaving you with three times the funds I’ve utilised till date.”

"I have nurtured BharatPe as my baby. I’ve built it along with my co-founder and an amazing team of individuals. Most times the circumstances were hostile (to say the least) but it did not stop me. BharatPe was the last entrant in UPI space and competed with goliaths like PayTM, PhonePe, and GooglePay – but it still emerged as a leader in the industry," he noted. 

Grover said that still after resigning from the board of BharatPe he will continue to remain the single-largest individual shareholder of the company.