Ashneer Grover allegedly 'sold' ICC T20 WC 2021 passes for crores, claim sources

Adding fuel to the ongoing Ashneer Grover-BharatPe saga, multiple sources on Wednesday confirmed that Grover allegedly sold thousands of free passes during ICC Mens’ T20 World Cup 2021 last year and pocketed couple of crores from the sale of most of those passes. BharatPe was the Global Partner of the tournament. Sources close to the development told IANS that Grover allegedly sold each pass for at least 750 dirhams (approximately Rs 15,000) and in the process, made several crores, which were allegedly deposited in a Dubai account.

Generally, a Global Partner gets around 700 free passes for one match and the fintech platform had thousands of passes to distribute, and most of which were allegedly sold, according to sources. Some BharatPe employees told IANS that they were given passes for the common stands but not the VIP ones. The ICC T20 World Cup 2021 was hosted by the UAE and Oman across four venues - Sharjah, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Muscat - from October 17. The final of the tournament was played in Dubai on November 14. Sixteen teams participated in the tournament.

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In June last year, the International Cricket Council (ICC) entered into a strategic partnership with BharatPe from 2021 to 2023. The agreement ensured BharatPe’s involvement and integration at all ICC events throughout the term. Grover had said then that this association "will enable us to build a stronger relationship with our existing merchants, as well as engage better with millions of new, small merchants across the length and breadth of India".

The fintech platform recently sacked Grover’s wife Madhuri Jain Grover over alleged financial irregularities during her tenure as Head of Controls to the tune of crores of rupees. Post this, Grover had resigned, saying that he is being forced to quit a company of which "I am a founder".

In a statement, BharatPe said it "reserves all rights to take further legal action against him (Ashneer Grover) and his family". Earlier this month, the fintech platform revealed that Grover, his wife Madhuri Jain, and their relatives were engaged in extensive misappropriation of company funds and grossly abused company money to fund their lavish lifestyles.

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