Threatened, Implicated, Deceived: Zilingo's Ankiti Bose Files FIR Against Fellow Co-Founders

Ankiti Bose claims that Kapoor and Vaidya coerced her into relinquishing shares and business interests under false pretenses

Zilingo's board terminated Ankiti Bose's employment in 2022 following an investigation into alleged financial irregularities conducted by Kroll.

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Ankiti Bose FIR: Ankiti Bose, co-founder and former CEO of fashion e-commerce start-up Zilingo, has filed a criminal complaint against fellow co-founder Dhruv Kapoor and former COO Aadi Vaidya, according to a report by The Times of India. The complaint includes allegations of cheating, criminal intimidation, conspiracy, and harassment, with Bose accusing Kapoor and Vaidya of misleading her and Zilingo's investors for financial gain.

Bose submitted a six-page complaint detailing the accusations. She claims that Kapoor and Vaidya coerced her into relinquishing shares and business interests under false pretenses. Bose's complaint outlines her grievances with the company's operations. As reported, she alleges that Vaidya, while serving as COO, misattributed loss-making deals to her and extended trade credit to various parties using her name. Bose also accused Vaidya of using these transactions to threaten her and deceive investors into wrongly implicating her.

Bose's allegations

As per the TOI report, Bose said, "As the chief operating officer, Aadi Vaidya engaged in misconduct by falsely attributing loss-making deals to me and extending trade credit to various parties in my name. He then used those deals to threaten me by falsely implicating me to investors, despite the fact that all operational dealings were conducted by him in my previous company. I have been threatened, deceived, and had errors attributed to me in order for Vaidya to fraudulently acquire my shares, which are valued at multiple crores.”

She also mentioned that Kapoor and Vaidya were "sneaky and shady" and withheld key company data and information.

Zilingo's foundation  

Bose co-founded Zilingo with Kapoor in 2015, and the company saw a valuation surge to Rs 7,000 crore in 2019. However, in 2022, Zilingo's board terminated Bose's employment following an investigation into alleged financial irregularities conducted by Kroll.

Bose's exit from Zilingo

At the time, Zilingo said, "Following an investigation led by an independent forensics firm, the company has decided to terminate Ankiti Bose's employment with cause and reserves the right to pursue appropriate legal action."

Reflecting on her dismissal, Bose noted the difficulty of the public dispute, saying it diverted attention from the core issues.

Kapoor, Vaidya responded

In response, Dhruv Kapoor and Aadi Vaidya termed the allegations baseless. Kapoor said, “Ankiti Bose’s allegations against me are completely baseless, untrue, and malicious. A thorough investigation has already proven her wrongdoing based on which she was terminated from the company. This appears to be nothing but retaliatory behavior. Throughout my tenure at Zilingo, I upheld my integrity by aiding the board's inquiry into the CEO's misconduct while fostering professional relationships and striving to build ethical products”

Vaidya said. "The allegations, as per media reports, made against me by Ankiti Bose are completely baseless and untrue. This seems like nothing but a clear afterthought done with a malicious intention to harm my reputation and harass me."