Ashneer Grover, the former CEO of BharatPe, and his wife, Madhuri Jain, encountered a halt at Delhi International Airport due to the enforcement of a Lookout Circular (LoC) against them, as confirmed by the police on Friday.
The LoC, initiated at the behest of the Delhi Police Economic Offences Wing (EOW), led to their interception at the airport on Thursday night. Sindhu Pillai, the Joint Commissioner of Police (EOW), confirmed the incident but refrained from divulging more details, citing the ongoing investigation's sensitivity.
Sources indicated that while on their way to New York, the couple was instructed to return to their Delhi residence and extend cooperation in the continuing probe being conducted by the EOW.
The specifics of the investigation or the allegations against Grover and Jain remain undisclosed at present.
Recent developments involved the Delhi Police submitting a status report to the High Court, highlighting alleged financial irregularities within BharatPe's operations attributed to co-founder Ashneer Grover and his family members. The report outlined concerning practices, including the purported use of backdated invoices for fund channeling.
Several HR consulting firms associated with Grover's family, such as True Work Co., Team Source, and Impulse Marketing, submitted bills with inactive bank accounts, raising suspicions of invoice fabrication, according to the report.
These ostensibly separate entities sharing a common registered address raised concerns about their credibility and autonomy, suggesting potential conflicts of interest.
The report emphasized that employing backdated invoices not only raised financial integrity issues but also questioned the transparency and accountability of BharatPe's financial practices.
Moreover, the EOW faced challenges in tracing vendor payments, adding complexity to the investigation and prompting scrutiny of BharatPe's due diligence in its business dealings.
(With Agency Inputs)
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