Ankiti Bose says 'will pursue rights against this witch-hunt' after being axed by Zilingo

After being sacked for alleged financial irregularities, Ankiti Bose, the cofounder of Zilingo and now the business's ex-CEO, said that she will be speaking on record shortly regarding the conflicts of interest "in the way this process was conducted." 

Bose stated she would take legal action against the board in an Instagram post, alleging that she was sacked not because of irregularities, but because of her 'insubordination' with primary investor Sequoia Capital India and Sequoia managing director Shailendra Singh. The Zilingo cofounder owns 8.58% of the company and is fighting to return the company's $40 million in outstanding loans, which were recalled by creditors after her suspension earlier this month.

On April 12, Bose had been suspended from the company.

The company, in a statement, 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."

Zilingo, one of Southeast Asia's most well-known tech startups, said in a statement that after Bose was suspended from her position as CEO on March 31, she brought to the board's attention some previous harassment claims, but that it did not include any complaint against Zilingo's investors or their nominees. Deloitte was tasked with investigating harassment claims made by Bose, who previously worked at Sequoia Capital India before founding Zilingo.

Bose claims she was suspended on basis of "anonymous whistle-blower allegation"

Bose made a statement in response to her dismissal as CEO, claiming that she had been suspended for 51 days on the basis of an "anonymous whistle-blower allegation" and that she had now been informed that her employment had been terminated, among other things, for insubordination. She also stated that she will be speaking on record shortly regarding the conflicts of interest in the way this process was conducted. Bloomberg reported on April 19 that the business was in talks to replace Bose following an examination of the Singapore startup's accounting methods.

On May 20, Bose claimed in her statement, “I was suspended on the basis that the company had instructed Kroll to investigate the complaint. I have neither seen the Kroll nor Deloitte reports and not been given sufficient time to produce any documents requested by them. Any report that comes out post my termination, would be vitiated as it seems to be instructed by conflicted parties and we will pursue our rights against this witch-hunt to the full extent of the law.”

The alleged accounting problems were discovered at a time when the Sequoia Capital-backed business was in advanced talks to raise $150-200 million in a new round at a possible valuation of $1.2 billion, clearing the door for it to become a unicorn. A unicorn is a privately held company with a market capitalization of $1 billion or more. Zilingo was valued at $970 million after raising $226 million in its most recent investment round in 2019, which included current investors Sequoia Capital and Singapore's sovereign wealth fund Temasek, among others.

Last year, it also secured $35 million in a bridge deal from current shareholders. Bloomberg also reported in April that Sequoia Capital India managing director Shailendra Singh had left Zilingo's board of directors. Sandeep Kher of Sequoia India took over as director of Zilingo.

(With agency inputs, Image: PTI)