Last Updated on 22/11/2021 by Sanskriti
Ashok Kumar Saxena 71 claims that about twenty years ago, he invested $27,500 in Paytm-owned One97 Communicat sons Pvt. Ltd. also says that he co-founded the company but has not got any payback of what he invested. A Delhi court has allowed cops three weeks to wrap up a probe into allegations made by the former Paytm executive.
Paytm has called the allegation “harassment” and included it in the draught red herring prospectus for its proposed $2.2 billion first public offering under “criminal actions” (IPO). From the year 2000 to 2004, Ashok Saxena has served on the board of directors and has written to the markets regulator requesting that the Paytm IPO be halted.
According to corporate governance experts, the disagreement may prompt regulatory probes and hinder the clearance of an IPO that could value Paytm, which is backed by Alibaba Group Holding Ltd., at up to $25 billion.
A Delhi district court judge ordered the police investigation’s final report to be delivered within three weeks on Monday. Animesh Kumar, Metropolitan Justice of the Peace, remarked, “I’m directing them to conclude the probe as quickly as attainable.”
After the hearing, prominent lawyer Anupam Lal Das, who represents Saxena, told Globalnews24.eu that the police had filed a standing report to the court, but that the investigation was still ongoing.
A police official in Delhi declined to comment and no comments have been made by Paytm too.
In 2001, Saxena and current Paytm CEO Vijay Shekhar Sharma inked a deal in which Saxena agreed to own 55% of One97 Communications and Sharma would manage the remainder. In response to a police inquiry, Paytm denied Saxena was a cofounder, stating the doc in question was “merely a letter of intent” that “didn’t develop into any definite settlement.”
The next hearing of the case is scheduled for the 13th of September.
