A fresh sensational story of another Indian founder taking his startup for a spin, Broker Network’s founder Rahul Yadav (operated by 4B Networks) reportedly owned a Mercedes-Maybach and hired a boardroom at the Taj Land’s End for Rs 80,000 per day, while employees were unpaid for months.
Over 150 employees have not been paid since November last year, according to a report in leading startup news portal Inc42.
One top-level employee lent Yadav close to Rs 50 lakh. He has filed a criminal complaint against Yadav,” the report said.
Yadav also asked other employees to take out “advance salary” loans.
According to his employees, Yadav maintained a luxurious lifestyle throughout this period.
According to one employee, Yadav said that his Maybach and Bentley came from his earnings at Anarock.
In the report, Yadav, who founded AHousing.com, denied all allegations of wrongdoing at the company.
AIPL, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Info Edge, invested Rs 276 crore in Yadav’s 4B Networks and provided debt financing of Rs 12 crore.
As Rahul Yadav repeatedly failed to provide information, Info Edge has begun a forensic audit of the prop-tech startup in which it holds a stake.”
4B Networks was founded by Yadav in 2020 and last raised Rs 90 crore at a valuation of $185 million in September 2022.
4B Networks and its current management were asked to provide information, including details and particulars about financial transactions.
4B Networks has repeatedly failed to provide AIPL with such information and has also refused to respond to the company’s information requests on several occasions, according to Indo Edge’s exchange filing.
According to the filing, “AIPL has exercised its contractual rights under the shareholders’ agreement and articles of association of 4B Networks, and is initiating a forensic audit of the investee company’s affairs.”
BharatPe co-founder Ashneer Grover, Singapore-based fashion startup Zilingo founder Ankiti Bose, and GoMechanic’s financial discrepancies have all rocked the startup ecosystem recently.
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