Ankiti Bose, the former CEO of Singapore-based fashion marketplace Zilingo, has filed a criminal complaint against her two fellow co-founders, Dhruv Kapoor and Aadi Vaidya, the Times of India reported.
Bose was reported to have pressed charges of cheating, intimidation, conspiracy and harassment. She further alleged that Kapoor and Vaidya misled her and Zilingo’s investors in a move that involved forcing her to relinquish her shares and business. These actions took place between 2020 and 2022, Bose claimed.
“As the chief operating officer, Aadi Vaidya engaged in misconduct by falsely attributing loss-making deals to me and extending trade credit to various parties in my name. He then used those deals to threaten me by falsely implicating me to investors, even though all operational dealings were conducted by him in my previous company. I have been threatened, deceived, and had errors attributed to me in order for Vaidya to fraudulently acquire my shares, which are valued at multiple crores,” Bose said in her complaint, reviewed by Times of India.
Bose added that this made it “extremely difficult” to collaborate and make informed decisions. She further alleged that both Kapoor and Vaidya deliberately chose not to turn up for the company’s meetings with Kroll, which was hired to conduct a forensic audit into Zilingo by its investors at the time.
Bose is reported to be represented by law firm Singhania & Co.
DealStreetAsia has reached out to Bose for comment.
Zilingo’s downfall began with the suspension of its co-founder and CEO Ankiti Bose in March 2022 over alleged financial irregularities. One of the key issues of contention was the way the firm recognised revenue on its books, including seller discounts and incentives.
The matter soon devolved into an ugly slugfest, with the CEO and the company’s board accusing each other of impropriety. Bose was fired by the company two months later.
As the saga unfolded, Zilingo’s creditors lined up to recall loans, staff left in hordes, and questions were raised over the corporate governance norms implemented by marquee investors that had backed the company.
Once hailed as a rising star from Southeast Asia, the company had raised over $310 million in capital from investors such as Peak XV Partners (formerly Sequoia Capital India), Temasek Holdings, and Burda Principal Investments.
Peak XV Partners, in particular, was under the spotlight with a series of corporate governance issues related to its portfolio firms including BharatPe, Trell, Zetwerk, and GoMechanic which made headlines for inflating its revenues.