Indian payment startup BharatPe said on Tuesday that its board had recommended several measures following corporate governance issues, including the termination of several employees & vendors and filing criminal cases for misconduct.
BharatPe, a Fintech and IPO-hopeful company, allows people to make payments through QR codes. It had initiated a corporate governance review in January and now hopes to aid investors’ worries over a public spat involving personal investments by one of its co-founders.
Paytm and Google Pay competition, BharatPe came under the light after co-founder Ashneeer Grover, one of the sharks of Shark Tank India- Season 1, sought damages from Uday Kotak, head of Kotak Mahindra Bank, alleging that the bank declined him financing personal investment.
Reuters, in January, has reported that the audit would access if the BharatPe’s senior executives are making transparent disclosures of personal investment. After a detailed review in which the former co-founder was found performing wilful misconduct and gross negligence over the last two months, BharatPe has recommended several decisive measures that are being implemented in the firm in the upcoming time.
BharatPe plans to introduce a new vendor procurement policy to mitigate the risk of employees indulging in suspicious transactions to enrich themselves. The company has terminated several employees in the department who were directly involved in the matter, adding to the statement.
“Many vendors involved in the malpractices, such as incorrect and inflated invoices, have been blocked for further business with the company”, said BharatPe. The company has already issued a legal notice to these vendors to recover the amount and will be filing suit against them, in the upcoming days, the company added.