Bengaluru: Binny Bansal who quit as chairman and Group CEO of Flipkart has strongly refuted the allegations of “serious personal misconduct’’ raised against him by an unnamed complainant.
In a detailed email sent out to Flipkart employees on Monday he said, the allegations left him stunned and he strongly deny them.
“These have been challenging times for my family and me. I am concerned that this may become a distraction for the company and the team. In light of these circumstances, I feel it is best to step away as Chairman and Group CEO,’’ he said in the email.
Bansal said for some time, he has been mulling over the right time to step away from an operating role at Flipkart Group.
“My plan was to continue in my current role for a few more quarters to complete the transition after closing the deal with Walmart. However, my decision to step down has been accelerated by certain personal events that have taken place in the recent past.’’
Giving a brief account of the issue, he wrote, “These events relate to a claim of serious personal misconduct made against me, which was uncorroborated after a thorough investigation completed by an independent law firm. The allegations left me stunned and I strongly deny them. The investigation, however, did bring to light lapses in judgment, particularly a lack of transparency, related to how I responded to the situation.’’
In a statement to stock exchanges as part of regulatory requirement, Walmart, which acquired 77% stake in Flipkart, said, “While an internal investigation did not find evidence to corroborate the complainant’s assertions against Binny, it did reveal some lapses in judgement, particularly a lack of transparency, related to how he responded to the situation.”
Binny has been an important part of Flipkart since co-founding it, with Sachin Bansal, but recent events risked becoming a distraction and he made a decision to step down, said Walmart in its filing.
Bansal in his email said, he would continue to be a large shareholder in the company and also would continue to serve as a member of the Board of Directors.
“I am convinced that the company is in great hands with our experienced leaders — Kalyan, Ananth and Sameer. They have done an exceptional job running the businesses for many years now and with the support of Walmart that I have experienced, will continue to lead the company to even greater successes in the future.’’
Kalyan Krishnamurthy, who currently heads e-com platforms of the company will now be in charge of Flipkart Group businesses.
Bansal concluded his email with these words “I thank you for all the goodwill that you’ve shown towards me over the years. I’m grateful to have had the opportunity to help get us to where we are today. I look forward to seeing Flipkart scale greater heights in the coming years.’’
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