Zilingo ex-CEO Ankiti Bose files FIR against co-founder: 'Threatened, deceived me, attributed errors'

Dhruv Kapoor and Aadi Vaidya were "sneaky and shady" and hid various company-related data and information, Ankiti Bose alleged.

Co-founder and ex-CEO of fashion e-commerce startup Zilingo Ankiti Bose filed a criminal complaint against fellow co-founder Dhruv Kapoor and ex-COO Aadi Vaidya, it was reported. Ankiti Bose pressed charges of 'cheating', 'criminal intimidation', 'conspiracy', and 'harassment' in her complaint and alleged that Dhruv Kapoor and Aadi Vaidya misled her as well as Zilingo's investors to gain financial advantages.

The Times of India reported citing a 'six-page complaint' by Ankiti Bose in which she claimed that the duo had coerced her to give up shares and business under false pretence.

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What Ankiti Bose said in her complaint?

"As the chief operating officer, Aadi Vaidya engaged in misconduct by falsely attributing loss-making deals to me and extending trade credit to various parties in my name. He then used those deals to threaten me by falsely implicating me to investors, despite the fact that all operational dealings were conducted by him in my previous company. I have been threatened, deceived, and had errors attributed to me in order for Vaidya to fraudulently acquire my shares, which are valued at multiple crores," she said as per the TOI report.

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Dhruv Kapoor and Aadi Vaidya were "sneaky and shady" and hid various company-related data and information, she alleged.

Ankiti Bose's exit from Zilingo

Ankiti Bose co-founded Zilingo with Dhruv Kapoor in 2015. It was reported that Zilingo's valuation surged to ₹7,000 crore in 2019 but in 2022, Ankiti Bose was fired by the Zilingo board following an investigation into alleged financial irregularities by Kroll.

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The company had then said, "Following an investigation led by an independent forensics firm that was commissioned to look into complaints of serious financial irregularities, the company has decided to terminate Ankiti Bose's employment with cause, and reserves the right to pursue appropriate legal action."

Ankiti Bose reflected on her dismissal saying, "In addition to the dispute playing out publicly (which ought to have been kept private as originally intended), the media attention around Zilingo and myself have made it impossible to focus on what is important."

Following the allegations, Dhruv Kapoor said, "Ankiti Bose's allegations against me are completely baseless, untrue, and malicious. A thorough investigation has already proven her wrongdoing based on which she was terminated from the company. This appears to be nothing but retaliatory behaviour. Throughout my tenure at Zilingo, I upheld my integrity by aiding the board's inquiry into CEO's misconduct while fostering professional relationships and striving to build ethical products."

Aadi Vaidya also denied the allegations and said, "This seems like nothing but a clear afterthought done with a malicious intention to harm my reputation and harass me."

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