Bharatpe investor’s tough stand on fraud: Sequoia Capital said – will not back down from protecting the interests of the company, even if the price is economic loss
Online payments company BharatPe’s largest shareholder Sequoia Capital on Sunday said it will continue to take a tough stand against willful misconduct and fraud. “We will not hesitate to work to protect the interests of the company and its employees, even if it costs us financially,” Sequoia said.
Sequoia’s statement comes in the wake of BharatPe’s recent controversy in which Madhuri Jain, wife of the company’s co-founder Ashneer Grover, was accused of misappropriation of company funds and Grover had to resign from his post. Sequoia did not directly name BharatPe in its statement. BharatPe allows shop owners to collect payments from customers through QR codes.
Always with the Founders in Tough Times
Apart from BharatPe, Sequoia has investments in companies ranging from 1mg to Byju’s, Cafe Coffee Day and Grofers. Eight companies in Sequoia’s portfolio went public last year. “We usually stand shoulder to shoulder with our founders during tough times, but sometimes we feel very disappointed,” Sequoia said.
Our worst days are when we hear about violations of integrity and ethics in portfolios. This is the thing that hurts us the most. We want to create big companies that are not only valuable but also sustainable and this can happen only when the values are right and the governance is strong.
