Singapore-based startup Zilingo came back to the news after its co-founder and former CEO, Ankiti Bose, filed a first information report (FIR) against co-founder Dhruv Kapoor and former COO Aadi Vaidya, for alleged cheating, fraud, and sexual and mental harassment.
Bose, who was sacked after alleged financial irregularities at the fashion startup — which raised more than $300 million from top investors, including Temasek Holdings Pte and Sequoia Capital India (now Peak XV Partners) — alleged that Kapoor and Vaidya “have engaged in deceptive activities, misleading both myself and investors in an attempt to gain financial advantages and coerce me into relinquishing my shares and business under false pretences”.
“Kapoor and Vaidya threatened me, used lewd language and sent me vulgar sexually explicit messages from untraceable accounts and also threatened me that they will target me online and that they will get me into a terrible mental state where I will commit suicide,” alleged Bose.
Kapoor was quoted as saying in reports on Wednesday that Bose’s allegations are “completely baseless, untrue, and malicious”.
“Throughout my tenure at Zilingo, I upheld my integrity by aiding the board’s inquiry into Ankiti’s misconduct while fostering professional relationships and striving to build ethical products,” said Kapoor.
Vaidya also said that the allegations “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,” he was quoted as saying in reports.
In her criminal complaint, Bose alleged that Kapoor and Vaidya have “deliberately disseminated false and malicious information about me, with the intent of tarnishing my personal and professional reputation”.
Zilingo entered liquidation in January last year. The startup ecosystem has been rocked by several such cases in the past, including BharatPe Co-founder Ashneer Grover, Broker Network (operated by 4B Networks) founder Rahul Yadav and others.