The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of Delhi Police has taken Deepak Gupta, a relative of former BharatPe Managing Director and Cofounder Ashneer Grover, into custody over allegations of embezzling funds from the fintech company.
Gupta is currently at the EOW Police Station and is expected to appear before the Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM) at Saket Court, according to ANI.
Gupta is married to the sister of Madhuri Grover, Ashneer Grover’s wife. Madhuri, who previously served as BharatPe’s head of controls, was terminated from her position. Gupta’s arrest occurred on the night of September 19.
In December 2022, BharatPe lodged a criminal complaint against five individuals, including Ashneer Grover, Madhuri Grover, Shwetank Jain (Madhuri’s brother), Suresh Jain (Ashneer’s father-in-law), and Deepak Gupta (brother-in-law to both Ashneer and Madhuri).
Last month, the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) made its first arrest in the case, arresting Amit Kumar Bansal. He was accused of being part of a group behind non-existent firms that received Rs 72 crore in payments from BharatPe’s former directors between 2019 and 2021.
In May 2023, the EOW registered a First Information Report (FIR) against Ashneer Grover, his wife Madhuri, and their relatives Deepak Gupta, Suresh Jain, and Shwetank Jain in connection with a fraud case valued at Rs 81 crore.
In a related development, the Delhi High Court recently allowed Ashneer Grover and his wife, Madhuri, to travel abroad after they contested a ‘Look Out Circular’ issued by the EOW that had restricted their movement. The court approved their trip to the United Kingdom from September 28 to October 7, followed by a visit to Doha from October 17 to 20, where Ashneer is scheduled to speak at various events, according to reports.
Justice Sanjeev Narula approved their international travel after reviewing the submissions from both parties. The plea faced opposition from Rishikesh Kumar, the Special Public Prosecutor (SPP) representing the Delhi Police.
The couple had previously been granted permission to travel to the United States.
(With inputs from agencies)
First Published: Sep 20 2024 | 2:21 PM IST
