New Delhi: Kotak Mahindra Bank on Sunday said it is pursuing “legal action against co-founder and managing director of the fintech Bharatpe Ashneer Grover and his wife Madhuri in connection with the abusive call matter.
The lender acknowledged that the couple had on October 30 sent a legal notice to it, without elaborating on the reasons for the same. According to media reports, the couple had accused the bank of failing to secure finance and allocation of shares in the Nykaa initial public offer (IPO) and sought ₹ 500 crore in damages.
“This 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. Appropriate legal action is being pursued,” a media statement from the city-headquartered lender said.
It, however, did not elaborate on the exact point over which the legal action is being pursued.
When contacted, a spokesperson for Bharatpe declined to comment on the developments.
Last week, an audio clip surfaced on social media where a couple is purportedly speaking to what appears to be a relationship manager from a bank. The male voice hurls abuses and the other male voice is heard pacifying him. It was speculated if it is the Grover couple in the viral clip, and Ashneer Grover denied the same calling the tape as “fake”.
Mr Grover said it’s a fake audio by “some scamster trying to extort funds (USD 2,40,000 bitcoins)” and added that he “refused to buckle”.
“I’ve got more character. And, internet has got enough scamsters,” he tweeted.
BharatPe serves over 75 lakh merchants across 150 cities. The company has already facilitated the disbursement of loans totalling over ₹ 3,000 crore to its merchants since its launch. BharatPe has raised over USD 650 million in equity and debt, till date.
Its investors include Tiger Global, Dragoneer Investment Group, Steadfast Capital, Coatue Management, Ribbit Capital and others.
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