Quikr officials accused of fraudulent transactions
Three officials of Quikr, the classifieds startup, have been accused of faking business transactions and pocketing crores of rupees.
Three officials of the classified startup Quikr have been accused of faking business transactions. The startup has filed a complaint against its zonal manager, area manager, and accounts head.
The company's officials have been accused of a massive fraud by faking transactions in the name of non-existent clients. In an official statement Quikr said:
“Certain anomalies have come to our notice in our PG transaction business involving our employees, and we are working with external parties for legal action against all the parties involved. We may not be able to disclose more information as it may hamper the ongoing investigation.”
While the company hasn't commented much on the issue, media reports suggest the three allegedly introduced several people who own PG Accommodation on the platform in Delhi and Bengaluru. The company has accused the officials of conspiring with the owners to create fictitious business transactions and submit the same to Quikr through the owners and got them to approve the documents on behalf of Quikr.
In July this year, Quikr had raised a debt funding of Rs 20 crore from Trifecta Capital. The startup had also received Rs 13.90 crore on May 27 from its Mauritius-based entity. Pranay Chulet-led firm has issued 14,940 equity shares at a premium of Rs 9,300 per share to Quikr Mauritius Holding Ltd.
Quikr has raised close to $441 million in capital till date and has made 15 acquisitions, including Zefo, Babajob, Zimmber, Grabhouse, StayGlad, CommonFloor, Stepni, and a few others. Its investors include Tiger Global Management, Kinnevik, Warburg Pincus, Matrix Partners India, Norwest Venture Partners, NGP Capital, Steadview Capital, and Omidyar Network, among others.
According to media reports, the accused have been booked by the Bengaluru police under IPC Sections 420 (cheating), 406 (criminal breach of trust), 506 (criminal intimidation), 477A (falsification of accounts) and 120B (criminal conspiracy), and are investigating the case.