FIR against ex-BharatPe MD Ashneer Grover, wife over alleged Rs 81cr fraud

Delhi Police’s Economic Offences Wing (EOW) has lodged a first information report (FIR) against Ashneer Grover, former managing director of BharatPe, his wife Madhuri Jain Grover, and other members of the family on BharatPe’s complaint. The New Delhi-based fintech giant has accused Grover and his family of defrauding it to the tune of Rs 81.28 crore. EOW now has the power to arrest all the accused.

If found guilty, Grover and his family can face up to 10 years of imprisonment.

The other members of Grover’s family against whom the EOW has registered an FIR include Deepak Gupta, Suresh Jain, and Shwetank Jain.

The FIR has been registered on eight counts of serious cognisable criminal offences. These are related to breach of trust, cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property, forgery of valuable security, forged documents or electronic record and criminal conspiracy. The FIR read that these have caused a loss of approximately Rs 81.28 crore to BharatPe.

Some of the sections under which the FIR (reviewed by Business Standard) has been registered include 409 (criminal breach of trust by public servant, or by banker, merchant or agent), 420 (cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property), 467 (forgery of valuable security, will, etc.), and 120B (criminal conspiracy).

In a statement after the FIR, BharatPe said: “We welcome the registration of an FIR by the Economic Offences Wing of the Delhi Police on the company’s complaint in relation to the criminal offences by Mr Grover, his wife Madhuri Jain and other family members… For the last 15 months, the company has been facing a vicious and malicious campaign run by Grover against the company, the board and its employees. The registration of the FIR is a step in the right direction, which unearths various suspicious transactions made by the family for their personal pecuniary gains.”