FIR Filed Against Zilingo Co-Founder Dhruv Kapoor, Ex-COO Aadi Vaidya On Former CEO’s Complaint

Mumbai Police has reportedly lodged an FIR against Zilingo co-founder Dhruv Kapoor and ex-COO Aadi Vaidya on the complaint of the company's co-founder and former CEO Ankiti Bose. Bose filed a criminal complaint against the duo following which the local police filed an FIR, said reports. Bose brought forth accusations of cheating, criminal intimidation, conspiracy, and harassment. She had been dismissed from her leadership position in May 2022 by the Singapore-based B2B fashion startup, following allegations of financial impropriety.

As per reports, Bose, in her formal complaint, asserted that Kapoor and Vaidya had deceived her and the company's investors to secure financial gains, compelling her to surrender her shares and business under false pretences. Bose maintained that this misconduct persisted from April 2020 until 2022. Bose claimed that Aadi Vaidya, in his capacity as the chief operating officer, engaged in misconduct by falsely assigning loss-making deals to her and offering trade credit to various parties under her name. 

"He then used those deals to threaten me by falsely implicating me to investors, despite the fact that 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 mentioned in her complaint. She also accused Kapoor and Vaidya of being 'sneaky and shady' by hiding various company-related data and information.

However, Dhruv Kapoor and Aadi Vaidya refuted Bose's claims terming the allegations 'baseless' and 'malicious'. Responding to the allegations, Dhruv Kapoor said, "Ankiti Bose’s allegations against me are completely baseless, untrue, and malicious. A thorough investigation has already proven her wrongdoing based on which she was terminated from the company. This appears to be nothing but retaliatory behavior. Throughout my tenure at Zilingo, I upheld my integrity by aiding the board's inquiry into the CEO's misconduct while fostering professional relationships and striving to build ethical products.” 

Aadi Vaidya also made similar statement. "The allegations, as per media reports, made against me by Ms. Ankiti Bose are completely baseless and untrue. This seems like nothing but a clear afterthought done with a malicious intention to harm my reputation and harass me," said Vaidya.

Zilingo had enlisted Kroll and Deloitte for a forensic audit to probe the complaints levelled against Bose. Kapoor and Vaidya remained unresponsive to messages. The law firm Singhania & Co, representing Bose, verified this course of action. Bose co-founded Zilingo with Kapoor in 2015. Before her removal as CEO, she was suspended by the board pending an investigation by an independent forensics firm into the purported financial irregularities.