ZCZC
BCN-32
INDIA-WALMART-FLIPKART-ECONOMY
Walmart-owned Flipkart CEO quits amid misconduct probe
MUMBAI, Nov 14, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – The chief executive and co-founder of
Indian e-commerce giant Flipkart, majority owned by US group Walmart, quit on
Tuesday following an investigation into “serious personal misconduct”.
A joint statement from the two companies said that Binny Bansal denied the
unspecified allegations and that the independent probe “did not find evidence
to corroborate the complainant’s assertions”.
“(But) it did reveal other lapses in judgement, particularly a lack of
transparency, related to how Binny responded to the situation,” the statement
said.
“Binny has been an important part of Flipkart since co-founding the
company, but recent events risked becoming a distraction and Binny has made a
decision to step down,” it said.
A Flipkart spokesperson declined to comment on the nature of the personal
misconduct.
Flipkart, India’s biggest e-commerce platform by sales, was purchased by
Walmart for $16 billion in May in a bid to outpace its rival Amazon.
Following the 77-percent stake purchase, Flipkart’s co-founder Sachin
Bansal, not related to Binny, left the company after selling his stake.
Amazon boss Jeff Bezos has committed $5 billion to grabbing a big slice of
India’s e-commerce pie after failing to make inroads in China.
BSS/AFP/HR/1050