Shark Tank’s Ashneer Grover bought dining table for ₹1 crore, rented penthouse: Staff reveals his ‘lavish lifestyle’

Shark Tank India judge and BharatPe co-founder Ashneer Grover has been caught in a controversy with the company. He recently resigned from his position after a bitter clash with BharatPe board. A new report has now claimed that Ashneer and his wife Madhuri Jain Grover, who was also sacked from her position in the company as head of controls, lived quite the luxurious life. (Also read: Ashneer Grover says ‘to hell with all of them’ as he quits BharatPe)

Bloomberg has published a report on the matter, for which they held interviews with over a dozen current and former employees of BharatPe, as well as several other people close to the company. It mentions that Madhuri once threatened a colleague with a salary deduction for making printouts at work. She had also criticised people for the amount of coffee consumed in the office.

BharatPe co-founder Shashvat Nakrani and chief executive Suhail Sameer spoke to Ashneer about the matter and asked him to hire someone else. However, he rejected all the candidates for the position, as per a person, and the role is still vacant.

In their personal lives, Madhuri and Ashneer weren’t as frugal. They upgraded their home for a rented penthouse and renovated another luxury property. He also purchased a Porsche. Ashneer told multiple people at the company he spent $130,000 (approximately ₹1 crore) on a dining room table, according to the employees.

An employee also said that wearing masks was not promoted in the office and that only a few of the company’s 70 or so employees wore them. She said that Ashneer scolded her for making coronavirus an issue and influencing staff. She was fired from the job soon after.

Madhuri Grover, who worked ashead of controls at and wife of BharatPe co-founder Ashneer Grover, used to threaten colleagues over trivial matters while she worked as the Head of Controls of the company, a new report has revealed. Several incidents of her management style were brought to Ashneer’s notice and he was asked to hire an experienced chief financial officer. But he rejected all the candidates for the position. However, their office frugality contradicted the couple’s lifestyle as Madhuri and Ashneer bought a diner table worth over ₹9 crore. They also upgraded home to rented penthouse and bought a Porche. (Also Read | Ashneer Grover shows his bed on floor at friend’s house amid ‘lavish lifestyle’ claim by BharatPe board: ‘I’m appalled’)

A recent case study was conducted by Bloomberg after holding interviews with over a dozen current and former employees of BharatPe, as well as several other people close to the company. As per over 10 current and former employees said that Madhuri once threatened a colleague with a salary deduction for making printouts at work. She had also criticised people for the amount of coffee consumed in the office. According to members of the marketing team, Madhuri raised queries over the price of television or motorcycle intended as gifts for a merchant promotion.

BharatPe co-founder Shashvat Nakrani and chief executive Suhail Sameer spoke to Ashneer about the matter and asked him to hire someone else. However, he rejected all the candidates for the position, as per a person, and the role is still vacant.

In their personal lives, Madhuri and Ashneer weren’t as frugal. They upgraded their modest home for a rented penthouse and renovated another luxury property. He also purchased a Porsche. Ashneer told multiple people at the company he spent $130,000 (approx 9 crore 93 lakh) on a dining room table, according to the employees.

According to the current and former employees, the problems began in 2020 during the first Covid-19 wave. BharatPe’s office stayed open and a senior female executive who joined the startup that year said she was shocked that mask-wearing wasn’t mandatory. Only a few of the company’s 70 or so employees wore them. She said that Ashneer scolded her for making coronavirus an issue and influencing staff.

Within a few weeks into the job, her employment was abruptly terminated, she told Bloomberg. A senior employee called her a ‘diversity hire’ and another attributed the decision to her emotional baggage.

Recently, BharatPe stripped Ashneer and Madhuri of all positions after a preliminary report of an external audit commissioned by the fintech firm’s board showed that the duo indulged in alleged misdeeds and financial irregularities. “The board will not allow the deplorable conduct of the Grover family to tarnish BharatPe’ s reputation or that of its hard-working employees and world-class technology. As a result of his misdeeds, Grover is no longer an employee, a founder, or a director of the company,” BharatePe said in a statement. Ashneer had resigned from the post of Managing Director.

with PTI inputs