New Delhi: The Economic Offenses Wing (EOW) of the Delhi Police has arrested Deepak Gupta, Chief Procurement Officer at PhonePe, on charges of misappropriation of funds and cheating. Gupta, a relative of BharatPe co-founder Ashneer Grover, was taken into custody following an interrogation session on September 19.
Police officials have confirmed Gupta’s arrest but have not yet linked it directly to the ongoing investigation into Ashneer Grover. Gupta is related to Grover through his wife, as he is married to Madhuri Grover’s sister. Madhuri Grover, Ashneer’s wife, was previously fired from her role as Head of Controls at BharatPe.
Sources have revealed that Gupta is currently being held at Mandir Marg Police Station. He is expected to be produced before the Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM) at Saket Court, where the police will seek his remand.
The arrest is a part of a larger investigation into allegations of financial misconduct at BharatPe. In December 2022, BharatPe filed a criminal complaint against five individuals, including Ashneer Grover, Madhuri Grover, and several family members—Shwetank Jain (Madhuri’s brother), Suresh Jain (Ashneer’s father-in-law), and Deepak Gupta (Madhuri’s brother-in-law). The EOW registered an FIR in May 2023, accusing the group of defrauding the company to the tune of Rs 81 crore.
The fraudulent activities reportedly involved illegitimate payments to bogus human resource consultants, inflated payments through vendors connected to the accused, and fake input-tax credit transactions. BharatPe also accused the group of making illegal payments to travel agencies and forging invoices, among other financial irregularities.
The EOW had already made its first arrest in the case last month when Amit Kumar Bansal was taken into custody. Bansal was accused of being involved with non-existent firms that had received Rs 72 crore from BharatPe between 2019 and 2021.
Gupta’s arrest adds a new dimension to the investigation, but so far, no direct link has been established between his arrest and Ashneer Grover’s ongoing legal troubles. The case continues to unfold, with further developments expected as the investigation progresses.
