BharatPe’s rise has been phenomenal. Within three years of launch, it has a $2.8-billion valuation and counts marquee investors from the US, such as Sequoia Capital, Tiger Global Management and Ribbit, as its main backers. Plus, former SBI chairperson Rajnish Kumar heads its board. 

More crucially, the fintech startup is part owner of a small finance bank (SFB) venture, something its peers have been eyeing for years. BharatPe has just begun operations of this venture, Unity SFB, in partnership with Centrum, and together, they plan to revive scam-hit cooperative bank PMC.

But BharatPe has a troubled past of its own, the details of which have not been publicly known. It points to investor ignorance, potential governance problems and a poor work culture — big red flags for a company providing financial services. 

The issues are linked to BharatPe co-founder Bhavik Koladiya’s former conviction in the US, and the questions arising now may cause further complications for managing director Ashneer Grover, who is facing multiple controversies.