BharatPe filings reveal salaries of Ashneer Grover, Suhail Sameer and Rajnish Kumar

Updated on: 28 January 2023 7:44 pm

The Tamil Nadu government will provide the fund from the Tamil Nadu SC/ST Startup Fund of Tamil Nadu Startup and Innovation Mission (StartupTN)

MK Stalin-Led Tamil Nadu Government Invests Rs 7.5 Crore In Start-Ups Led By Founders From SC/ST Community Photo: The Tamil Nadu government will provide the fund from the Tamil Nadu SC/ST Startup Fund of Tamil Nadu Startup and Innovation Mission (StartupTN)

BharatPe has filed its financials for the financial year 2021-22 (FY22), revealing the salaries of its top executives. According to the filings, co-founder Ashneer Grover took home a salary of Rs 1.69 crore in FY22, while his wife and the company's former head of controls, Madhuri Jain Grover, was paid Rs 63 lakh during the same period, as per Moneycontrol.

The couple was ousted from the company early last year over allegations of financial misconduct. The filings also show that former chief executive officer (CEO) Suhail Sameer was paid Rs 2.1 crore in FY22, and former State Bank of India chief and chairman Rajnish Kumar fetched a remuneration of Rs 21.4 lakh.

In addition to the regular salaries, the filings also revealed that the company incurred Rs 70 crore in share-based payment expenses in FY22, a 218 per cent increase from the previous financial year.

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Grover, who is currently battling multiple legal proceedings brought on by the company, had raised concerns over the Rs 315 crore of employee stock options (ESOPs) granted to BharatPe's top brass in FY22. In a letter to board members and investors, he alleged that most of the ESOPs were allotted to four key managerial personnel of the company: Chairman Rajnish Kumar, founder Shashvat Nakrani, former CEO Suhail Sameer, and general counsel Sumeet Singh.

It should be noted that these remunerations do not include share-based payments to individuals. Employee stock options are expensed on the profit and loss account of a company when they vest. As such options have a vesting schedule spread over multiple years, the amount does not reflect the cost of such options granted during the year.

BharatPe's FY22 financial statement also carries the qualified opinion of its auditor, highlighting "material weaknesses" in the company's finances as a result of inadequate internal controls that led to fake invoices and a penalty by tax authorities. In a lawsuit filed last year, the company sought damages worth Rs 88 crore from Grover and his family for such alleged financial misappropriation. BharatPe's revenue from operations rose 284 per cent to Rs 457 crore in FY22, while net loss widened 3.5 times to Rs 5,610 crore.