In a major development, Ashneer Grover, the co-founder and managing director of BharatPe, has resigned from the fintech firm amid ongoing controversy at the company. “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," Grover wrote in his resignation email. “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 they are ostensibly trying to protect,” BharatPe managing director wrote in his letter to the board.
“From being celebrated as the face of Indian entrepreneurship and an inspiration to the Indian youth to build their own businesses, I am now wasting myself fighting a long, lonely battle against my own investors and management. Unfortunately, in this battle, the management has lost of what is actually at stake – BharatPe," he further added. Earlier this year, a phone conversation went viral in which a man, alleged to be Ashneer Grover, could be heard abusing an employee of Kotak Mahindra Bank after the lender had missed out on the initial public offering (IPO) allotment for Nykaa. At first, BharatPe managing director claimed the audio was ‘fake’ in a tweet on social media platform. Later, he deleted the tweet. Kotak Mahindra Bank allegedly initiated a case against Ashneer Grover and his wife for using “inappropriate languages" against their employees.