Delhi HC Releases Security Deposit By Ashneer Grover, Madhuri Jain As They Return To India

Over a month after taking a security deposit of INR 80 Cr from BharatPe co-founder Ashneer Grover and his wife Madhuri Jain before their travel to the US, the Delhi High Court has reportedly permitted the release of the amount as the duo have now returned to India.

As per Moneycontrol’s report, Justice Sanjeev Narula passed the order after the duo’s lawyer Giriraj Subramanium told the court of their return while Madhuri Jain was personally present in the court hall. 

However, Inc42 couldn’t verify the development. 

The sum that the court took custody was incidentally just shy of the INR 81 Cr that the Grovers are accused of embezzling from BharatPe. 

On May 24, Justice Subramonium Prasad directed the couple to furnish the security by way of property in order to make their trip to the US, for their children’s summer school. The court also asked them to surrender their Emirates Card to prevent them from fleeing to the UAE, given they are golden visa-holders.

The matter between the fintech major and its ex-top deck employees, that is ex-CEO Ashneer Grover and ex “head of controls” Madhuri Jain Grover, is currently being investigated by the Economic Offences Wing (EOW). 

In their investigation, the EOW has found a host of unexplained payments made to allegedly fake HR consultancies of around INR 7.6 Cr by the duo as well as their family members.

Further, they are also alleged to have used backdated invoices to syphon funds from BharatPe’s accounts towards payments of commissions for recruitment work, as per a status report filed by the EOW in the Delhi HC in November 2023. The EOW pegged these fictitious transactions to be worth around INR 71.76 Cr. 

Given the findings, the duo were barred from leaving the country without a court order thanks to a lookout circular (LOC) issued by the EOW. In light of the LOC, Grover and his wife had moved the Delhi High Court seeking its permission to travel abroad.

The EOW protested the court’s decision to allow them to leave India, saying that they are at a flight risk. 

Owing to the EOW observations,  the court allowed Grover to travel to the US on May 26, with his return to India scheduled for June 14. His wife was permitted to leave for the US on June 15, and return to India on July 1.

Note: We at Inc42 take our ethics very seriously. More information about it can be found here.