Flipkart founders booked for refusing ~9.9-cr payment

E-commerce major says complaint false, baseless

The Bengaluru police is investigating a case of cheating against Flipkart cofounders Sachin Bansal and Binny Bansal, along with three other employees, after a city-based businessman accused them of withholding payment of ~9.96 crore.

Naveen Kumar, owner of a computer shop, C-Store, in Indiranagar, alleged he had supplied 14,000 laptops to Flipkart, of which, about 12,500 were sold. However, the payment for the remaining laptops was not made. On contacting Flipkart, he alleged the company’s response stated it had returned 4,000 laptops. The resultant loss to his business amounted to ~9.96 crore, Kumar stated in his complaint.

A First Information Report (FIR) was filed with the Indiranagar police, which said it had registered a complaint under three Sections of the Indian Penal Code for common intent, criminal breach of trust and cheating. Business Standard reviewed the police complaint. “He supplied 14,000 laptops, of which 1,482 were returned. Flipkart did not pay for the remaining laptops. It also did not pay TDS and shipping charges. When we asked them, Flipkart falsely said it had returned 3,901 laptops and has withheld a sum of ~9,96,21,419,” the complaint stated.

Flipkart denied the accusations and said the complaint filed was false and baseless. “Flipkart strongly denies all the allegations and averments made in the FIR in entirety. Further, Flipkart is exploring all available legal possibilities to safeguard its interests, including but not limited to initiating proceedings for defamation against the complainant,” the company said in a statement late Monday evening.