NestAway Technologies co-founder and former CEO Amarendra Sahu has raised serious allegations against co-founders of the company and several investors as well. He has accused them of fraud, forgery and intimidation with respect to the sale of the firm in 2023.
The home rental startup offers furnished homes and was sold to Aurum PropTech for 90 crore rupees (around US$10.4 million). Sahu owned a 5% stake in the company and claims that the investors were engaged in dishonest practices to push the sale through. He alleged that they promised him an additional 11.72 crore rupees (around US$1.3 million) to secure his consent for the deal. However, the money was not delivered till date.
One concerning allegation is the signature of Sahu that was misused on sale documents after he had resigned from his role as a director. He further claims that certain investors like Deep Varma of Tiger Global and Kailash Nath from Chiratae Ventures used threats as well as pressure to force him to sell his shares and step down as well. He further accused that co-founder and current CEO Jitendra Jagdev worked with the investors to sideline him during the sale process.
The accused parties including the investors and Jagdev have denied the claims. The situation raised important questions about transparency and fairness in business dealings.
The role of investors in startup decisions and their influence over co-founders will undoubtedly remain a point of discussion as the case unfolds. The investigation by the Economic Offences Wing in Bhubaneswar is to play an important role.
