BharatPe Controversy Deepens: Ashneer Grover’s relative linked to financial misdeeds arrested
Deepak Gupta, who is married to Madhuri Grover's sister (Ashneer Grover's spouse), was arrested on the evening of September 19, 2024.
In a notable advancement regarding the BharatPe Controversy, the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the Delhi Police has apprehended Deepak Gupta, a relative of BharatPe co-founder Ashneer Grover. Gupta, who is the brother-in-law of Grover, was taken into custody on Friday, September 20, 2024, due to his suspected role in the misappropriation of funds within the fintech organization.
Deepak Gupta, who is married to Madhuri Grover’s sister (Ashneer Grover’s spouse), was arrested on the evening of September 19, 2024. He previously held the position of Head of Procurement at Resilient Innovation, BharatPe’s parent company. Gupta is currently detained at the Mandir Marg Police Station and is scheduled to appear before the Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM) at Saket Court, where the police will request his remand with respect to the ongoing BharatPe Controversy.
This marks the second arrest in the BharatPe Controversy case, following the earlier apprehension of Amit Kumar Bansal in August 2024, who was implicated as a member of fictitious firms that received payments totaling Rs 72 crore from BharatPe directors between 2019 and 2021.
In December 2022, BharatPe initiated a criminal complaint against five individuals, namely Ashneer Grover, his spouse Madhuri Grover, her brother Shwetank Jain, their father Suresh Jain, and Deepak Gupta. Following this, the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) registered a First Information Report (FIR) in May 2023, identifying these five individuals as defendants in a fraud case amounting to Rs 81 crore. BharatPe has alleged that Grover and his family members inflicted financial losses on the company through various fraudulent activities conducted between 2019 and 2021, as far as the BharatPe Controversy is concerned.
The purported schemes include unauthorized payments to fictitious HR consultants, inflated payments to familiar vendors, fabricated transactions for input tax credits, and illicit payments to travel agencies.
BharatPe Controversy: Gupta’s role
Gupta faces allegations of acknowledging the receipt of non-existent items, such as standees, which enabled fraudulent payments to fictitious companies. This scheme permitted the diversion of funds under the pretence of legitimate business dealings.
The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) has indicated that Gupta’s conduct played a role in facilitating payments to entities that were, in fact, non-existent. This was part of a larger conspiracy involving several family members of Ashneer Grover, including his spouse, who are purported to have orchestrated these fraudulent operations. Gupta, along with other implicated parties, is accused of employing forged documents to validate these transactions, which ultimately resulted in a substantial financial loss for BharatPe, estimated at approximately ₹81 crore (around $10 million) due to these unlawful activities.
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