BharatPe founder faces legal action by Kotak over 'abusive' call
Kotak Mahindra Bank on Sunday said it is seeking "legal action" against BharatPe co-founder and managing director Ashneer Grover and his wife Madhuri over an "abusive call." The call was allegedly made by Grover with an employee of the Kotak Group. Last year, the couple had issued a legal notice accusing the bank of failing to arrange finance and share allocation in Nykaa's IPO.
Why does it matter?
The development comes in reaction to the legal notice given to Kotak Mahindra Bank CEO Uday Kotak and other senior Group executives by Mr. Grover's legal representatives. While Mr. Kotak is one of the Kotak Group's wealthiest, Mr. Grover is among India's most successful entrepreneurs. Notably, an audio clip had leaked last week where a male voice—allegedly Grover's—was heard hurling abuses.
'No breach or violation by Kotak'
The Kotak Group said in a media statement on Sunday that there has been no breach or violation by the Kotak Group. Mr. Grover's notice was "received by us and was replied to appropriately at the time, including placing on record our objections to inappropriate language used by Grover," it said. "Appropriate legal action is being pursued," the Kotak Group added.
'Fake audio,' Grover denies claims
Mr. Grover allegedly used improper language and threatened a Kotak employee in an audio call that surfaced on social media last week. On January 6, Mr. Grover said that the viral audio recording was "fake." "It's a fake audio by some scamster trying to extort funds (US$ 240K in bitcoins)," he tweeted. Grover later deleted the tweet, and the audio has also been removed.
Earlier, Grover had served notice to Kotak over Nykaa IPO
Mr. Grover's law firm had issued a notice to Kotak's executives on October 30, 2021. Kotak Wealth Management allegedly broke its promise to allot shares of FSN E-commerce Ventures—Nykaa's parent company—to Mr. and Mrs. Grover, the notice said. It demanded compensation for Kotak's failure to deliver IPO finance and distribute Rs. 500 crore worth of shares before the IPO closed on November 1, 2021.
What are BharatPe and Kotak Mahindra?
After HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank is India's third-largest private bank by market capitalization. Kotak Wealth Management and Kotak Asset Management are some of the bank's subsidiaries. Founded in 2018, BharatPe is a fintech company that has facilitated the issuance of over Rs. 3,000 crore in loans to its merchants and has raised over $650 million in equity and debt.
